Business leaders beware. The more fatigued your employees are, the greater the number of risks to your business. You need to manage the situation before consequences are met.
The causes of employee fatigue include:
– Long work shifts and overtime
– Sleep loss due to stress at work
– Strenuous physical and mental activity
– Long commutes to and from work
To alleviate the problem, you could incorporate more breaks into your employees’ day. You could get to the bottom of why your employees might be feeling stressed. You could outsource those tasks that don’t pertain to their job descriptions. And you could allow your employees the opportunity to work from home occasionally if your business model could accommodate this.
If you don’t take such steps to manage employee fatigue, the following could happen.
#1: Accidents could take place
When your employees become tired, their response times will slow down. This can be catastrophic if your workers are responsible for managing items of heavy machinery, or if they have to drive as part of their job. When an accident happens, an injury could take place. Not only will this prove traumatic for your employee, but your business could suffer too. If you were found to be liable for your employees’ tiredness, you could face a compensation claim. We aren’t only talking about a claim made by your employee, as if a road accident were to occur, for example, you might face a claim by an innocent driver who has been encouraged to lawyer up today by a law firm specialising in road-based accidents. So, for the sake of health and safety, and for the upkeep of your finances and reputation, don’t ignore the dangers that tiredness could cause.
#2: Productivity will suffer
If work doesn’t get done, your customers and clients will become unhappy, and your business will face a loss in profits. And while you might berate your employees for not working hard enough, you need to remember that fatigue could be the factor causing your employees’ slow work rate. You see, not only will extreme tiredness cause your employees to work more slowly, but it can also result in mistakes being made, so time will be spent trying to rectify any errors. Think about that the next time you are tempted to march an employee into your office because of their ‘lazy’ behavior, because chances are, laziness might not be the problem at all!
#3: Sick days will increase
Not only will your employees spend longer away from work if they have been injured in an accident, but they might call in sick should they fall victim to employee burnout. This is often as a direct consequence of a build-up of stress and tiredness, so when your employees finally go beyond their limits, they will no longer have the capacity or the drive to come into work. In some cases, your employees might be encouraged to seek compensation from you, especially if you can be held responsible for making them sick.
Finally
So, consider your place of business. If your employees are showing signs of fatigue – poor concentration, lethargy, irritability – now might be the time to make some changes. You might face the consequences in your business if you don’t!
