How tired workers are is no inconsequential thing. Employee drowsiness can have some serious consequences.
For one, it can have negative impacts for employers. A recent survey found that around 90 percent of U.S. employers have experienced negative effects stemming from worker sleepiness. Among the problems employers commonly encounter in connection to tired workers are absenteeism, lowered productivity and workplace accidents.
These things can have major financial consequences for companies. It is estimated that the effects of employee fatigue can end up costing businesses with 1,000 employees over $1 million a year.
Worker drowsiness can also have significant financial ramifications for workers’ compensation insurers. In the above-mentioned survey, fatigue-related workplace injuries and near-misses were reported by 32 percent of the polled employers. So, more worker sleepiness could mean more workplace injuries. More work injuries, in turn, can mean more workers’ compensation claims. This could put increased financial stress on insurers.
So, what trends occur here in Louisiana when it comes to how tired workers are can matter quite a bit for workers’ comp insurers who operate in the state.
Many things can have impacts on the likelihood of worker fatigue, including how much sleep workers get, what kinds of break workers take and work scheduling.
How big of a problem do you think workplace drowsiness is here in Louisiana? What do you think are the biggest contributors to such tiredness in the state? What do you think are the best ways to help reduce worker drowsiness and its negative consequences?