Eight tips to prevent workplace fatigue

High levels of exhaustion in the workplace can seriously deteriorate your company’s performance. Identify and prevent fatigue with these useful tips. 

Workplace fatigue has been the cause of many workplace accidents. According to recent studies, it is also a factor that has been known to decrease annual productivity at the cost of $1,200 to $3,000.

We have assembled a list of preventative measures that you could implement in your company to create a more efficient and safer environment for everyone, reducing workplace fatigue, thus increasing your business projects’ work capacity and stability.

Analyze your company’s current situation

How much data and information do you currently have at this time about workplace fatigue for your company? Conducting a thorough analysis can be an excellent start to detecting inefficiencies, and therefore opportunities for improvement.

Conducting surveys or asking your team leaders can uncover relevant data to understand how your staff feels. Maybe there is something that worries or bothers them about their routine, or they might even have ideas to make their work more efficient and thus better prevent the effects of fatigue.

It is also useful to carry out data analysis to identify the problems more objectively. For example, if there is a way to measure productivity per hour, you can determine the most significant challenges and then take action.

Update your furnishings

Adopting quality ergonomic furniture is also one of the best ways to prevent fatigue at work and is also essential for long-term health.

Of course, chairs or seating are essential to any job, and many offices currently use ergonomic chairs. However, one should take ergonomics into account when evaluating other furniture selections and make daily activities more efficient.

For example, height adjustable desks are ideal for those who have to spend a good part of the day sitting. This allows them to easily change position, thus notably delaying the adverse effects of fatigue.

Identify symptoms of workplace fatigue 

If you have a human resources department, having a process to identify worker fatigue signs promptly is advisable.

Many simple and everyday tasks are considered high-risk if they are performed while a worker suffers from fatigue. Therefore, promptly detecting the early signs of exhaustion is needed to make business processes more efficient and prevent accidents.

Maintain comfort facilities

It is also usually recommended that spaces be designated for employees to relax and be distracted at work from time to time.

This depends a lot on the type of activity; although, for example, if it is a company with offices, having a comfort room where they can simply sit softly and relax their minds; or, an attractive installation on a balcony, to get some fresh air.  Employees can recuperate quickly without leaving the facility, thereby making the most effective use of time.

It is better to have six complete hours of concentration and work than to have 8 hours of an employee drudging through the motions.

Optimize work schedules

As part of the current strategies to prevent workplace fatigue, a change in employees’ work schedules can also be beneficial.

In some cases, when reducing the number of working days per week, remarkable results have been achieved in productivity. You may also consider opting for fewer long hours, flexible schedules, or adopting more work at home office policies.

The importance of a health regimen

Recent research has also documented how bad health habits can severely aggravate fatigue in the workplace. From issues as fundamental as hydration, to sitting posture, to stress relief exercises, a simple change can severely impact the level of burnout in a day.

You should, therefore, encourage workers to adopt healthier habits. Talk to your health insurance provider to see if they can offer some benefits, such as health club membership discounts or even a reduction in your payments.  You can also use signage and promote voluntary group activities to reinforce this message.

Don't forget about nourishment

If you work while hungry, the incidence of headaches and neglect also increases, so consider this factor in your schedule and habits, but also concerning your facilities.

For example, recent studies found that in some cases, at a particular time of the day, productivity was severely reduced since there was a generalized appetite phenomenon. Making small changes, such as optimizing the cafeteria menu, or placing snack dispensers in the hallways, became a detail capable of providing the extra energy needed to complete the day in a good mood.

Monitor the data

There is no single magic formula to stop worker fatigue completely. Each company is different, and therefore the strategies must be very directed, both to the type of business and the characteristics of the staff.

An excellent way to hinder fatigue is to define methods to measure fatigue levels accurately and thus be able to check the effectiveness of different strategies.

It is also vital to demonstrate and maintain openness for employees to express their feelings about their well-being; this can provide essential clues to generate an optimal environment for everyone.

Fatigue at work is also a cause of a lack of motivation and dedication. Finding ways to keep your staff active, interested, and energetic will continuously improve the results and help them make better decisions.