Sometimes, you just didn't sleep well, or you missed your morning coffee, or you had a meeting that just went on and on and on - but sometimes, it's fatigue, and you or your coworkers could be at serious risk. You can't just ignore it, or push through it - fatigue is a serious issue that you need to respect.


WHAT IS FATIGUE?

Fatigue is more than feeling tired and drowsy. In a work context, fatigue is a state of mental and/or physical exhaustion that reduces a person’s ability to perform work safely and effectively. It can occur because of prolonged or intense mental or physical activity, sleep loss and/or disruption of the internal body clock. Signs of fatigue include:

  • tiredness even after sleep

  • reduced hand-eye coordination or slow reflexes 

  • short term memory problems and an inability to concentrate

  • blurred vision or impaired visual perception 

  • a need for extended sleep during days off work

The longer term health effects of fatigue can include:

  • heart disease 

  • diabetes 

  • high blood pressure 

  • gastrointestinal disorders 

  • lower fertility 

  • anxiety 

  • depression.

WHAT CAUSES FATIGUE?

Fatigue can be caused by work related or non-work related factors or a combination of both. Work related causes of fatigue include excessively long shifts, not enough time to recover between shifts and blocks of shifts, very strenuous jobs and long commuting times. An example of non-work related fatigue would be poor quality sleep due to street noise or family demands.

 

THE BODY CLOCK

Most people are day-orientated - meaning they are most alert and productive in the daytime and sleep at night. The circadian rhythms (the body clock) cause regular variations in individual body and mental functions repeated approximately every 24 hours. These rhythms regulate sleeping patterns, body temperature, heart rate, hormone levels, digestion and many other functions. These rhythms influence job performance and quality of sleep.

Most of the body’s basic functions show maximum activity by day and minimum activity by night. The body rhythms affect the behaviour, alertness, reaction times and mental capacity of people to varying degrees.

 

WHY IS FATIGUE A PROBLEM IN THE WORKPLACE?

Fatigue may increase the risk of incidents because of a lack of alertness. Fatigue may result in a slower reaction to signals or situations and affect the ability to make good decisions, particularly when:

  • operating fixed or mobile plant including driving vehicles 

  • undertaking critical tasks that require a high level of concentration 

  • undertaking night or shift work when a person would ordinarily be sleeping. 

A person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers while they are at work. This means if fatigue is identified as causing a risk to work health and safety, then suitable control measures should be implemented in consultation with workers to eliminate or minimise the risks.

 

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A WORKER

Workers have a duty to take reasonable care for their own safety and health and that their acts or omissions don’t adversely affect the health or safety of others. Workers must also comply with any reasonable instruction and cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure relating to fatigue at the workplace, for example fitness for work policies and policies regarding second jobs. To reduce the risk of being involved in a work incident caused by fatigue, you should:

  • comply with your organisation’s policies and procedures relating to fatigue 

  • understand your sleep, rest and recovery needs and obtain adequate rest and sleep away from work 

  • seek medical advice and assistance if you have or are concerned about a health condition that affects your sleep and/or causes fatigue 

  • assess your own fitness for work before commencing work 

  • monitor your level of alertness and concentration while you are at work 

  • look out for signs of fatigue in the people you work with

  • in consultation with your supervisor, take steps to manage fatigue, for example take a break or short nap (night shift), maintain hydration (drink water), do some stretching or physical exercise, adjust the work environment (lighting, temperature) 

  • talk to your supervisor or manager if you foresee or experience being impaired by fatigue likely to create a health and safety risk e.g. because of a health condition, excessive work demands or personal circumstances 

  • assess your fatigue levels after work and take suitable commuting and accommodation options (e.g. avoiding driving if fatigued)

 

Who has responsibility?

Everyone in the workplace has a work health and safety duty and can help to ensure fatigue does not create a risk to health and safety at work. Fatigue is not only caused by work related activities – it is affected by all activities carried out when a person is awake.

The person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has the primary duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, workers and other persons are not exposed to health and safety risks arising from the business or undertaking. The duty on the PCBU is not removed by a worker’s preference for certain shift patterns for social reasons, their willingness to work extra hours or to come to work when fatigued. The PCBU should adopt risk management strategies to manage the risks of fatigue in these circumstances

Officers such as company directors, must exercise due diligence to ensure the business or undertaking complies with its work health and safety duties. This includes taking reasonable steps to ensure the business or undertaking has and uses appropriate resources and processes to manage the risks associated with fatigue.

Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and must not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons. Workers must also comply with any reasonable instruction and cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure relating to fatigue at the workplace, such as policies on fitness for work or second jobs.

Workers’ duties in relation to fatigue do not mean they must never work extra hours. However, they should talk to their manager or supervisor to let them know when they are fatigued. They should also avoid working additional hours and undertaking safety critical tasks when they know it is likely they are fatigued.

 

Things to look out for:

Although the above advice pertains primarily to exhaustion/overwork, not all fatigue has such a simple cause. Fatigue can be a symptom of much more serious and often chronic illnesses, with the symptom reported as a result of cancer, chronic fatigue disease, anemia, multiple sclerosis and potentially even COVID-19.

If your fatigue doesn't clear up after a break of about two weeks, or if your fatigue comes in seemingly-random bursts, or if it's accompanied by any other concerning symptoms like headaches, chest pain, bleeding/blood flow, shortness of breath, etc, it is strongly recommended you seek medical attention. You know your body best - if something seems wrong, don't ignore it. 

 

Further information is available in the Guide for Managing the Risk of Fatigue at Work or Preventing and managing fatigue-related risk in the workplace