Federal regulators have recently spent a great deal of energy addressing the hazards posed by fatigued commercial truckers. However, drowsy workers in nearly any profession can be at a higher risk of being involved in a workplace accident than their more alert coworkers.

This reality was confirmed recently in guidance offered to employers by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The college released a paper indicating that employers who choose to maintain a comprehensive system aimed at fatigue risk management among employees may observe increased safety and efficiency in the workplace.

Nearly two in five American workers struggle with fatigue. In addition to a feeling of low energy or tiredness, fatigue can affect focus, productivity and is often a symptom of other challenging health conditions.

Fatigue clearly poses a safety risk in the workplace. The paper notes that "fatigue and decreased alertness resulting from insufficient or poor-quality sleep can have several safety-related consequences, including slowed reaction time, reduced vigilance, reduced decision-making ability, poor judgment, distraction during complex tasks, and loss of awareness in critical situations."

When employers adopt a fatigue risk management system, they can address many of these safety issues head on. Initial steps may include fatigue-management training for management and other employees, creating a fatigue-related accident reporting system and analyzing fatigue-related surveys to obtain perspective on the nature of the problem in their particular employees.

Finally, mitigating the specific risks that fatigue may exacerbate in a specific work environment can lead to decreases in injury and sick time costs for employers and greater well-being for workers.

Source: Business Insurance, "Fatigue risk management can improve workplace safety," Roberto Ceniceros, Feb. 3, 2012