Fatigue

Fatigue is more than feeling tired and drowsy. In a work context, fatigue is a state of mental and/or physical exhaustion which reduces a person's ability to perform work safely and effectively.

Fatigue can occur because of prolonged mental or physical activity, sleep loss and/or disruption of the internal body clock.

Fatigue can be caused by factors which may be work related, non-work related or a combination of both and can accumulate over time.

Fatigue can adversely affect safety at the workplace. Fatigue reduces alertness which may lead to errors and an increase in incidents and injuries, particularly when:

operating equipment and machinery
undertaking critical tasks that require a high level of concentration
undertaking night or shift work when a person would ordinarily be sleeping

Effects of fatigue

The effects of fatigue can include:

feeling drowsy
excessive yawning or falling asleep at work
headaches
dizziness
blurred vision or impaired visual perception
short term memory problems
an inability to concentrate
noticeably reduced capacity to engage in effective interpersonal communication
impaired decision-making and judgment
reduced hand-eye coordination
slow reflexes
other changes in behaviour, for example repeatedly arriving late for work
increased rates of unplanned absence

Long term effects of fatigue

Longer term health effects of fatigue can include:

heart disease
diabetes
high blood pressure
gastrointestinal disorders
lower fertility
anxiety
depression

Identifying contributing factors for fatigue

Methods to identify factors which may contribute to or increase the risk of fatigue can include:

checklists
consulting with workers and health and safety representatives about the impact of workloads and work schedules
examining work practices and systems of work
examining worker records to determine working hours and whether excessive hours have been worked
obtaining advice and information on fatigue from relevant experts, guidance materials and data published by regulators, industry associations, unions or other sources
reviewing workplace incident data

Reducing the risk

The risk of fatigue may be reduced by:

planning an appropriate workload
offering a choice of permanent roster or rotating shifts
limiting shifts to 12 hours including overtime, or to 8 hours if they are night shifts and/or the work is demanding, monotonous, dangerous and/or safety critical
providing a stool or 'standing chair'
wearing low heeled, comfortable, covered shoes
taking regular rest breaks
allowing sufficient time for workers to gradually get used to a new job
redesigning the job to limit periods of excessive mental or physical demands
job rotation to limit a build-up of mental and physical fatigue
developing contingency plans for potential situations where workers may have to unexpectedly work longer hours, more shifts or a long sequence of shifts
providing information and training to workers about the factors that can contribute to fatigue and the risks associated with it
developing and implementing a fatigue policy
encouraging workers to report concerns they may have about work-related fatigue

For further information refer to the G uide for managing the risk of fatigue at work on the Safe Work Australia website.