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Fatigue at Work

Aug. 25 2023 Safety By Pattison Agriculture

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The Effects of Fatigue


People often make light of how little sleep they get on a regular basis; an over-worked, over-tired condition has become the norm for many. But a good night's sleep is not just a novelty, it's a necessity. The effects of fatigue are far-reaching and can have an adverse impact on all areas of our lives.

Work often requires us to override those natural sleep patterns. More than 43% of workers are sleep-deprived, and those most at risk work the night shift, long shifts or irregular shifts. Following are a few facts for employers:

  • Safety performance decreases as employees become tired
  • 62% of night shift workers complain about sleep loss
  • Fatigued worker productivity costs employers $1,200 to $3,100 per employee annually
  • Employees on rotating shifts are particularly vulnerable because they cannot adapt their "body clocks" to an alternative sleep pattern


Drowsy driving is impaired driving, but while we wouldn't allow a friend to drive drunk, we rarely take the keys away from our tired friends or insist they take a nap before heading out on the road. National Safety Council has gathered research that shows:

  • You are three times more likely to be in a car crash if you are fatigued
  • More than 5,000 people died in drowsy-driving related crashes in 2014
  • Losing even two hours of sleep is similar to the effect of having three beers
  • Being awake for more than 20 hours is the equivalent of being legally drunk

Sleep is a vital factor in overall health. Adults need an average of seven to nine hours of sleep each night, but 30% report averaging less than six hours, according to the National Health Interview Survey.


Chronic sleep-deprivation causes depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses Fatigue is estimated to cost employers $136 billion a year in health-related lost productivity

Some research studies have shown that when workers have slept for less than 5 hours before work or when workers have been awake for more than 16 hours, their chance of making mistakes at work due to fatigue are significantly increased. 


Research has shown that the number of hours awake can be similar to blood alcohol levels. One study reports the following:

  • 17 hours awake is equivalent to a blood alcohol content of 0.05
  • 21 hours awake is equivalent to a blood alcohol content of 0.08 (legal limit in Canada)
  • 24-25 hours awake is equivalent to a blood alcohol content of 0.10

Ensure you are getting the sleep your body needs to properly function and not become the next statistic.