The Devastating and Deadly Costs of Employee Fatigue

June is National Safety Month and while that in itself may not get you excited, one of the most prevalent causes of accidents, spills, falls, injuries and even death might. The terrifying part is that you, your co-worker sitting next to you, the person driving next to you during rush hour, or the person responsible to get you home safely on public transportation have all suffered from this at one time or another.

So today I wanted to discuss the issue of fatigue. That feeling of being extremely tired both mentally and physically to the point where you can no longer function optimally.

The effects of fatigue on you and your workplace

We all know the statistic that medical professionals constantly cite—people should be getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night. However, when you’re young, you often joke about how little sleep you need to function.

My junior year in college, I got maybe two hours of sleep every night for the entire year. It’s not a coincidence that when the school year was over—after taking 17 hours of upper-level classes and a lab—I had a nervous breakdown after my last final and slept through June.

Once you’re out of college, you often start a family and your career at the same time. Your energy and time suddenly aren’t your own anymore. Even those that start one, but not the other, put all their time and energy into it and suffer from fatigue. An over-worked, over-tired condition is now normal for many, and the effects are felt in homes and offices around the country because fatigue adversely impacts all our lives.

Fighting fatigue at work is a battle you won’t win

According to the National Safety Council, work tends to make us fight our body’s natural sleep pattern, which is why more than 43% of you and your co-workers are sleep-deprived, and those most at risk work the night shift, long shifts or irregular shifts.

Unfortunately for businesses, NSC statistics show:

• Safety performance decreases as employees become tired
• 62% of night shift workers complain about sleep loss
• Fatigued worker productivity costs employers $1,200 to $3,100 per employee annually
• Employees on rotating shifts are particularly vulnerable because they cannot adapt their "body clocks" to an alternative sleep pattern

Friends don’t let friends drive … fatigued

Drowsy driving is impaired driving, but while we wouldn't allow a friend to drive drunk, we rarely take the keys away from our tired friends. Nor do we insist they take a nap or at least call for a ride before heading out on the road.

Again, the NSC research shows:

• You are three times more likely to be in a car crash if you are fatigued
• More than 8,000 people died in drowsy-driving related crashes in 2014
• Losing even two hours of sleep is similar to the effect of having three beers
• Being awake for more than 20 hours is the equivalent of being legally drunk

Fatigue will allow you to blow a 0.0 on a breathalyzer, but you’re still as dangerous as if you were completely drunk. Can you make it home OK? Sure … drunk people drive home just fine—sometimes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) here is just some of the damage drowsy drivers do on the road:

• Every year, there are about 100,000 police-reported crashes involve drowsy driving. These crashes result in more than 1,550 fatalities and 71,000 injuries. The real number may be much higher, however, as it is difficult to determine whether a driver was drowsy at the time of a crash.
• A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimated that 328,000 drowsy driving crashes occur annually. That's more than three times the police-reported number. The same study found that 109,000 of those drowsy driving crashes resulted in an injury and about 6,400 were fatal. The researchers suggest the prevalence of drowsy driving fatalities is more than 350% greater than reported.

Finally, beyond the human toll is the economic one. NHTSA estimates fatigue-related crashes resulting in injury or death cost society $109 billion annually, not including property damage.

Seriously … get some sleep or get some help because your life could be on the line

Sleep is a vital factor in overall health. Even though seven to nine hours is the goal, 30% report averaging less than six hours, according to the National Health Interview Survey. That can be a leading cause of many health-related issues.

• Chronic sleep-deprivation causes depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses
• Fatigue is estimated to cost employers $136 billion a year in health-related lost productivity
• More than 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder

Let’s face it, most Americans get little to no education or training on the importance of sleep until it’s too late and they wind up in the hospital. However, companies like yours can make a huge difference by training employees and management on the importance of sleep, sleep disorders and the consequences of fatigue. It is well worth the cost involved to keep you and your co-workers happy, healthy, productive and alive.