Help Your Employees Avoid the Risks of Fatigue

As many as a third of adults are not getting enough sleep in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If your staff is too tired, this hurts employee productivity and can even create a serious safety risk on the job.

While you cannot make employees go to bed on time, there are things your company can do to help fight fatigue on the job to make your workplace safer and more productive. Some of the key steps include:

• Implementing a fatigue-management program. The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine recommends companies have a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) which includes a fatigue policy, fatigue reporting, fatigue training and investigation, and a fatigue accident investigation system.
• Make sure you have enough staff. Asking employees to work overtime or long shifts significantly increases the risk of workers becoming overtired, unproductive and making potentially dangerous mistakes.
• Limit the number of night shift workers. Employees who work overnights are more tired than those who work days, even when they sleep during the day, because the body’s natural clock never fully adjusts to switching days and nights.
• Provide training and education to staff members. Training can focus on how to get a good night’s sleep as well as the importance of getting sufficient rest.
• Establish a workstation aimed at reducing fatigue. Temperature, lighting and noise levels at work can all impact whether a worksite is more likely to make employees tired.
• Schedule strategically. If there are critical or high-intensity tasks that require a lot of focus, schedule these tasks at a time when staff members are most likely to be awake and alert.

If your staff members are overworked and have too much overtime, it may be time to hire some new employees, so your current staff can get sufficient rest. SmartTalent can help. Let us work with you to find qualified candidates in Kirkland, Fife, Renton, Lacey, Lynnwood, Everett and surrounding areas who will be an asset to your organization and make life easier for current staff members. Call our professional staffing service today to find out how we can help.