Have You Had Employees Fall Asleep on the Job?

07.23.2018
HR & Safety

A recent National Safety Council survey found 90% of America’s employers have been negatively impacted by tired employees, with half saying they’ve had an employee fall asleep on the job.
Fifty-seven percent of employers have experienced absenteeism, and another 32% report injuries and near-misses due to fatigued employees, according to the survey.
Fatigue not only hurts employees’ wellbeing and safety, but it also carries a significant price tag.
An employer with 1,000 employees can expect to lose more than $1 million each year in missed workdays, lower productivity, and increased healthcare costs due to employee fatigue.
The survey report, Fatigue in the Workplace: Risky Employer Practices, is the second in a three-part series on fatigue in the workplace.
“This survey shows that employers are waking up to a hidden workplace hazard—too many employees are running on empty,” said NSC President and CEO Deborah A.P. Hersman in a statement.
“Employees are an organization’s greatest asset, and addressing fatigue in workplaces will help eliminate preventable deaths and injuries.”

Factors Contributing to Workplace Fatigue

Thirteen percent of workplace injuries can be attributed to fatigue, a dangerous byproduct of personal risk factors and a society that operates 24 hours a day.
The new data summarized in the report identify workplace practices and policies that are contributing to worker fatigue and workers falling asleep on the job, such as night shift and overtime scheduling, a lack of time off between shifts, and inadequate rest areas within the workplace for employees to take breaks.

Thirteen percent of workplace injuries can be attributed to fatigue.

Other key survey findings in the report include:

  • Ninety percent of employers say they will meet with a fatigued employee to understand the root causes of the fatigue, but only 55% say they will adjust an employee’s schedule or tasks accordingly.
  • Seventy-four percent of employers underestimate the prevalence of fatigue in the workforce.
  • Seventy-three percent do not communicate to employees about fatigue.
  • Sixty-one percent do not believe their employees would feel comfortable telling them if they were too tired to perform their job safely.
  • Fifty-one percent allow a night shift immediately before or after a day shift, increasing the employee’s fatigue and risk of being injured.
  • Sixty percent lack a designated area for employees to rest.

    Learn more by downloading both NSC Fatigue in the Workplace reports.

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