Fatigue plays a critical role in some of the most costly workplace health and safety categories, including stress, injury risk and several key health conditions.

 

Broad policy on restricting work hours or mandating break or recovery protocols will undoubtedly play a significant role in reducing the burden, but it won't result in a comprehensive solution. Interventions need to be tailored at an individual level in order to educate workers about the innate symptoms of fatigue and individual management strategies, including but not limited to personal sleep hygiene, lifestyle balance, substance use and stress management. With introspective knowledge of limits and performance partnered with conducive work practices and culture it is possible to significantly reduce the widespread and costly impact of fatigue.