Wearables Can Monitor Fatigue: Fatigue causes 13% of workplace injuries, says the National Safety Council.
Fatigue continues to be a problem for workers. In fact, more than 43% of U.S. workers are sleep deprived and say they are too tired to function at their job, according to a survey released by the National Safety Council in 2019. By 2020 that number went up to 77%. Although the pandemic was probably a large component of that, the numbers are not going in the right direction. This issue has a direct impact on safety in the workplace. It’s estimated, by the National Safety Council, that 13% of workplace injuries are caused by fatigue. Translated into costs, employers are paying more than $136 billion annually in health-related lost productivity. Viewing this number from a cost per employee, it’s around $1,200-$3,100 per year. In addition to injuries, fatigue can cause reduced mental cognition, decision-making, and reaction time, as well as decreased performance and productivity. As is the case with solving many issues, technology has a large role to play. In this...