Workplace fatigue has been recognized as a major cause of accidents, which can cause injuries and even loss of life. In the modern world, this is unacceptable in terms of workplace disruption, loss of productivity, cost and, most important, personal loss.

As America becomes a nation of caffeine-addicted insomniacs, the common workplace feels the impact.

An overwhelming majority of Americans agree that inadequate sleep impairs their work performance and puts them at increased risk for accidents, injuries and health problems, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), an independent nonprofit organization that advocates public health and safety by achieving understanding of sleep and sleep disorders.

When sleep deprived, people think and move more slowly, make more mistakes, and have difficulty remembering things. (Such assertions are reinforced by the growing body of evidence that suggests that being awake for prolonged periods of time can reduce a worker’s performance level to that of an intoxicated person.)These negative effects not only lead to lower job productivity (The financial loss to U.S. businesses is estimated to be at least $18 billion each year!), they of course can cause accidents too.

The NSF’s 2005 Sleep in America survey found that only half of adults can say they get a good night’s sleep a few nights a week or more. One-half of all respondents (50 percent) report feeling tired, fatigued or not up to par during wake time at least one day a week, with 17 percent saying this happens every day or almost every day.

Sleep is regulated by two brain processes: the restorative process when sleep occurs naturally in response to how long we are awake (i.e., the longer we are awake, the stronger is the drive to sleep); and the second process controls the timing of sleep and wakefulness during the day-night cycle. Timing is regulated by the circadian biological clock that is located in our brain.

Sleep needs vary. In general, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others cannot perform at their peak unless they have slept ten hours. A recent NSF survey found that Americans sleep an average of 6.8 hours a night on weekdays, with as many as a quarter sleeping well only a few nights a month.

Often, people become irritable due to lack of sleep, resulting in serious consequences. More compelling are the serious work-related consequences of sleep deprivation, for instance those that lead to approximately 100,000 sleep-related vehicle crashes each year and result in 1,500 deaths.

Every year thousands of people are killed and hundreds of thousands more are injured as the result of long-haul truck accidents. In 2003, 457,000 large trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds were involved in traffic crashes in the United States. The costs for fatal traffic accidents exceed $20 billion, including $8.7 billion in productivity losses, $2.5 billion in resource costs, and quality of life losses valued at $13.1 billion.

One of the common causes of these trucking accidents is fatigued, sleepy or tired drivers, driving too many hours without rest.

NSF’s 2005 Sleep in America poll found that 60 percent of the respondents licensed to drive say they have driven drowsy in the past year, an increase over recent years; four percent have had an accident or near-accident because they were too tired or actually dozed off while driving.

Further, if you are among the 17 percent of employees in the U.S. who are shift workers, sleep may be particularly elusive. Experts say shift workers are often hardest hit by sleep problems, as shift work forces you to try to sleep when activities around you — in addition to your own “biological rhythms” — signal you to be awake. The NSF puts the number of people who fit this description at 22 million Americans; that figure is reportedly increasing by 3 percent each year, as there are more occupations that require around-the-clock attention besides those in law enforcement, health care, energy and manufacturing, which traditionally have had rotating schedules.

In the aviation industry alone, shift workers include pilots, cabin crew, maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers or anyone involved in the operation of aviation machinery. They are at risk of fatigue. For instance, one of the highest sleep deprivation risks associated with those in aviation is the approach and landing phase. Lack of sleep increases the likelihood of making the wrong decision during this phase: a fatigued pilot can have difficulty landing an aircraft; a sleep-deprived air traffic controller may incorrectly transmit critical instructions; an exhausted fight attendant or crew person may not communicate correctly; or an engineer may fit the wrong part.

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), sleep disorders and sleep deprivation are “an unmet public health problem” of major proportions. In a landmark, 461-page report, IOM, a division of the National Academies, found that as many as 98,000 deaths due to medical errors occur annually in U.S. hospitals. Medical residents work longer hours (e.g. 30-hour shifts) than virtually all other occupational groups.

As our entire society continues to move toward a 24/7 kind of economy, people in retail, banking, information technology, media, etc., etc. — in addition to the aforementioned jobs that traditionally have had “untraditional” hours — are now working all the time.

Perhaps, in the grouping of “shift workers,” we should also include business travelers who often cross time zones. Or employees who wake up very early every morning to make a 1+ hour commute to work.

Resources

The IOM Reports to the Nation About Sleep
National Sleep Foundation
sleepmatters, Summer 2006

Do I Really Need to Talk to My Doctor About My Sleep Problems?
National Sleep Foundation
sleepmatters, Summer 2005

5 Career-Busting Health Conditions
By Dulce Zamora
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD
Originally published March 12, 2004.
Medically updated March 9, 2006.

Employee Fatigue Causing ‘Significant Problems’
Business & Legal Reports

Fatigue, Extended Work Hours, and Safety in the Workplace
Government of Alberta, Human Resources and Employment, June 2004