The Connection Between Workplace Injuries and Long Work Hours, Extended and/or Irregular Shifts

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, worker fatigue is a significant occupational safety concern. Why? Research shows that worker fatigue increases the risk of injuries and illnesses, and that it is linked to errors in patient care, industrial disasters, and increased sleep problems. There are several steps that employers can take to keep workers safe and protect them from the avoidable dangers associated with occupational fatigue, and there are even a few things that workers can do to protect themselves, too.

Fatigue: What Causes It, Who Is Affected, and What Are the Risks?

Fatigue is a persistent feeling of extreme tiredness or lack of energy that can interfere with daily activities. Current numbers indicate that millions of Americans experience fatigue or have chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as CFS. Per OSHA, several factors cause fatigue, like too little, poor quality, and/or interrupted sleep over a period of time. According to the agency, irregular and extended shifts are common among workers in all different industries, such as oil field workers, construction workers, first responders, healthcare providers, transportation workers, firefighters, service and hospitality workers, and many more.

OSHA reports that the effects of worker fatigue include:

• Increased risk for illnesses and injuries. Accident and injury rates are 18% higher during evening shifts and 30% higher during night shifts as compared to injury rates during day shifts. Working a 12-hour day is associated with a 37% increased risk of injury.
• Decreased alertness related to worker fatigue has been a contributing factor in several industrial disasters, including the 2005 Texas City BP oil refinery explosion, the explosion of the space Challenger, the 2009 Colgan Air Crash, and the nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.
• One study showed that among medical residents, having an extended shift schedule for one month increased the risk of getting into a car accident during the commute home from work by more than 16%.
• Increased sleep problems and risk for injury among full-time employees in relation to the number of hours they work weekly.
• Errors in patient care, increased needlesticks, and exposure to blood and other bodily fluids, in addition to increased occupational injuries among healthcare workers.

Worker fatigue is not only dangerous for individuals who are working long, extended, and/or irregular shifts – it is dangerous for everyone, like pedestrians walking underneath or nearby construction work sites, other drivers on the road, patients in doctor’s offices, hospitals, and nursing homes, and so many more.

Preventing Worker Fatigue

There are several ways that employers can reduce the risks and likelihood of workers experiencing fatigue. Here are just a few of OSHA’s recommendations:

• Refer to municipal, state, and federal laws pertaining to work hours, required periods of rest, overtime, and more. Several federal and national agencies have developed fatigue risk management program information that employers can refer to for guidance.
• Arrange schedules to allow frequent opportunities for rest breaks and nighttime sleep.
• Routinely examine staffing issues, like workload, understaffing, and worker absence (scheduled and unscheduled), and work hours, all of which directly contribute to worker fatigue.
• Make impactful adjustments to the work environment, such as lighting, temperature, and physical surroundings, to promote alertness.
• Provide worker education and training to address fatigue-related hazards, the symptoms of worker fatigue, the impact it has on health and relationships, adequate quality and quantity of sleep, and the importance of diet, exercise, and stress management strategies to inhibit the effects of fatigue.
• Consider implementing a Fatigue Risk Management Plan, under which, like with other risk factors, fatigue can be prevented and managed.

Workers can take some steps to promote healthy sleep at home. OSHA advises following some basic sleep hygiene recommendations, like sleeping 7 to 9 hours daily without interruption, trying to sleep at the same time each day, making sure that sleep has occurred within the last eight hours before going to work if you are working evenings or nights, and speaking with a doctor if you are experiencing difficulty sleeping.

Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim

At Galfand Berger, our attorneys have decades of experience representing injured, hard-working people. If you sustained a fatigue-related illness or injury at your job, someone at our firm can help you file a workers’ compensation claim. Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that provides medical benefits and wage replacement to injured workers. To learn more about filing a claim, contact a representative online now.

Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Galfand Berger LLP, Representing Automobile Accident Victims Since 1947

Contact the Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorneys at Galfand Berger LLP today. Call us at 800-222-USWA (8792) or fill out our online form for a free consultation. Located in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, Lancaster, and Reading, we serve clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Allentown and Harrisburg.