Study shows fatigue
in the workplace costs employers $136 billion
According to a study in the January 2007 Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, nearly 40% of U.S. employees
experience fatigue, a problem that carries billions of dollars in costs
of lost productivity and lost time. With adjustment for other factors, fatigue
was found to be more common in women than men, in workers less than 50 years
of age, and in white workers compared with African-Americans. Workers with
decision-making responsibilities and relatively high paid jobs reported
higher rates of fatigue.
The study examined the effects of fatigue on health-related lost productivity
time as well as absenteeism. For U.S. employers fatigue carried overall
estimated costs of more than $136 billion per year in health-related lost
productivity - $101 billion more than for workers without fatigue.
"Interventions targeting workers with fatigue, particularly women,
could have a marked positive effect on the quality of life and productivity
of affected workers,” the researchers conclude. They suggest that
companies could offer “work-life” programs to help employees
balance their work and personal responsibilities and take steps to improve
assessment and treatment of workers who have fatigue along with other health
conditions. |