Fatigue, stress and injury in the workplace
Stress
Stress in the workplace is a serious occupational health and safety issue and can be linked to serious health problems amongst workers such as heart disease, back pain, insomnia, headaches and more.
Studies have shown that workers who suffer from stress are:
- Those who have little opportunity to use their skills and who have little authority over decisions
- Those who have little control over their work
- Those who have heavy workloads
Fatigue
Workers who suffer fatigue are more likely to experience difficulties in the workplace. Workers need adequate rest, including breaks and time away from the workplace to ensure fatigue is not a problem.
Did you know that the need for sleep is the second most powerful urge (after breathing) of the human body, and the impairment of 24 hours without sleep is similar to .1% blood alcohol level?
Injury
Some people think that sprains, strain and pain are part of the job. But there’s no reason they should be. Our bodies need to have a variation of movement and posture with a balance between activity and recovery time. Repetitive work with no regular breaks or rest can cause strain, bad posture, headaches, stress, fatigue and long term injury to the body.
Your employer has a legal obligation to provide safe systems in the workplace, and this includes reasonable hours at work.
With proper occupational health and safety rules in place, all workers can be assured of a pain-free job. Injury, stress and fatigue can be reduced with:
- Regular meal breaks
- Adequate working hours
- Sitting down whenever possible
- Regular time away from the job, even if just for a few minutes