Impact Of Fatigue In The Workplace

Everyone experiences fatigue after prolonged physical or mental activity. While we all experience fatigue regularly, it is crucial to understand how it can impact our well-being. Contrary to popular belief, fatigue isn’t just tiredness or sleepiness, but the lack of mental and emotional energy to continue an existing activity or start something new. For instance, most working professionals experience fatigue, but very few would know that it may be affecting their performance considerably. Lack of knowledge on this subject may translate into carelessness and more errors at work, along with a decline in physical and mental health. 

So, what are the effects of fatigue in the workplace? 

Effects of Fatigue in the Workplace

The effects of fatigue manifest in the form of reduced concentration, drowsiness, memory recall failure, lack of motivation, irritability and anxiety, sluggishness, and slowed responses.

Reduced Concentration

One of the most common effects of workplace fatigue is reduced concentration. Employees who are exhausted cannot concentrate on their day-to-day tasks at work. Regular assignments, which they would otherwise complete efficiently, may also appear challenging, if not impossible, due to their lack of ability to concentrate.

Overly tired employees mentally drift away from a situation or task at hand, causing them to process fewer details than they usually would if they were not experiencing fatigue. Workers may also start daydreaming while at work due to concentration and focus problems. This may increase the time taken to obtain new knowledge and apply it effectively.

Drowsiness/Sleepiness

An overly exhausted body is a result of an exhausted brain, which starts sending signals to slow down abnormally. This is evident when we start feeling drowsy and sleepy regularly while at work. Yawning excessively, taking too many naps, feeling dull throughout the day, and zoning out during conversations are all symptoms that you are experiencing workplace fatigue. In extreme cases, employees might attract unwanted attention and criticism for falling asleep during meetings or collective gatherings. 

Memory Recall Failure

When your brain is tired from working beyond its capacity, it slows down. As a result, you find it impossible to remember crucial information, which could be detrimental to your performance at work. Difficulty in remembering important information is one of the effects of fatigue in the workplace and is often the first sign that you need to take a break. 

If a worker is experiencing fatigue, they may fail to give daily updates to their manager or coworker. They may also forget routine tasks or activities assigned to them, which could jeopardise their career.

Lack of Motivation

Employees experiencing fatigue show a great deal of disinterest even in the most regular activities at work and in personal life. They may also stop communicating with their coworkers. Their managers may find it difficult to train them on new technologies and concepts. 

Exhausted employees may find it difficult to meet deadlines and the lack of motivation and energy makes them procrastinate, leading to delayed and even missed deadlines. Frequent delays might make employees deliver poor quality, affecting their credibility. A simple, regularly assigned task may take forever to complete, while newer tasks may appear incomprehensible and unachievable.

Irritability and Anxiety

When you cannot deliver results efficiently at work, it makes you irritable and anxious. You are irritated because of your inability to be the best version of yourself. Failure to meet deadlines and participate in new projects makes you anxious about your future. 

Whether physically, mentally, or both, tired employees are typically not on their best behaviour at work. They are more likely to get into arguments, and disagreements with them are likely to escalate easily.

Such individuals may behave rudely without realising it, such as when speaking to someone or responding to someone in a loud, harsh tone unintentionally. They may also display anxious behaviours such as clicking their pen, tapping on their desk, etc.

Managers might find it challenging to help employees displaying irritability and anxiety behaviour work alongside others or in teams. 

Sluggishness and Slowed Responses

One of the worst effects of workplace fatigue is sluggishness. When the body and the brain have been working overtime without adequate rest, the brain automatically sends signals to slow down all systems. You are slow to understand something that is said to you leading to delayed responses and making you a lethargic person no one wants on their team or in their new projects. 

Sluggishness manifests in many ways other than delayed responses. In some cases, workers have also exhibited slower reflexes. It takes them longer to register a tap on their shoulder, someone calling out their name or patting their back, etc. In the worst cases, some may not even acknowledge such gestures. However, this is not intentional; their bodies merely are not in an alert or attentive state, which causes them to miss out on such stimuli.

Conclusion

The effects of fatigue manifest in different ways. It depends on the individual and the type of fatigue the individual experiences. Some common effects of workplace fatigue include reduced concentration, drowsiness and sleepiness, difficulty in remembering information, lack of motivation, irritability and anxiety, sluggishness, and slowed responses. If you are experiencing any such effects of fatigue at the workplace, then you must stop and take a break to give your body and mind a chance to rest and rejuvenate before you can resume your work.