How sleep affects work

Many Australian workers are sleepy at work, sleepy on the roads on their commute to work, and may experience errors in the workplace, increased injury and accidents, or may miss work because they are too tired. Fatigue causes more road accidents than alcohol and drug use combined.1

Sleep supports nearly every system in the body, refreshing our body and mind. This refresh is vital for our cardiovascular and immune systems, as well as our ability to think clearly, learn new information, and manage our emotions.2 Not having enough sleep or high quality sleep makes it harder to perform our daily tasks and increases the risks of mistakes and accidents.3

As the world changes there is greater demand for 24/7 operations and longer or fragmented working hours for individuals. These demands increase the risk of work-related fatigue and significantly disrupt sleep. Sleep is a restorative function of the body, essential for our physical and mental health, fundamental to our ability to think and learn, and critical to maintaining safe and healthy workplaces.

Sufficient, quality sleep is an essential requirement for a person’s wellbeing. Seven to nine hours of quality sleep is the generally accepted amount for cognitive and physical health in adults.4

In Australia, almost 40% of adults regularly don’t get enough quality sleep. For some people this is due to a clinical sleep disorder, but for others it’s caused by work patterns or lifestyle pressures. While people may understand that sleep is necessary, they don’t always make it a priority or consider the effects of insufficient sleep.5

Almost 80% Australians report being less productive after sleeping poorly. In 2016–17, it was estimated that inadequate sleep cost the Australian economy $26.2 billion, mostly due to reduced productivity.

If the impact of lost health and wellbeing is included, the estimated cost rises to $66.3 billion.6 Inadequate sleep has been associated with impaired performance in the workplace, primarily through reduced productivity while at work and increased absenteeism. This comes at a cost to employers, employees, and the safety of the broader community.7

What is work-related fatigue?

Fatigue is a state of mental and/or physical exhaustion which reduces alertness and impacts an individual’s ability to perform their work safely and effectively.8

Fatigue can result in:

  • feeling drowsy, or in extreme cases, unintentionally falling asleep
  • difficulty concentrating
  • impaired decision-making and judgement
  • reduced reaction time and poor physical coordination.

What are common causes of fatigue in the workplace?

Fatigue-related hazards may not be easily visible, so it is important to thoroughly assess your workplace to identify them. While some industries or roles are more prone to fatigue, the following hazards are present in most workplaces:

  • work schedules, including shift work, length of shifts, time off between shifts, timing of shifts and break – the risk increases dramatically with shifts longer than 8 hours
  • job demands – sustained concentration, monotonous or repetitious tasks, high physical effort and high workload can drain workers energy reserves
  • environmental conditions – exposure to heat, cold, vibration and noise can make workers tire more quickly.9

Non-work-related factors can also impact levels of fatigue at work such as:

  • sleep – length, quality and time since sleep
  • lifestyle – diet, exercise, and drug and alcohol use
  • family responsibilities
  • health – medication, sleep apnoea, insomnia, and physical and mental health conditions
  • type and length of commute to work
  • working multiple jobs.

While workplaces have an obligation to provide safe working conditions, everyone in the workplace has a duty to make sure that fatigue does not pose a risk to health and safety.

How to improve sleep and prevent fatigue in the workplace

A broad, integrated, systems approach to risk management of workplace fatigue includes key management support, high levels of worker participation, accurate hazard identification and the implementation of appropriate controls using the hierarchy of risk control. When it comes to preventing fatigue in the workplace the ‘defences in depth’ model is regarded as best practice.

The model should be implemented in consultation with workers and includes the following layers of protection:

Level 1 – Provide adequate rest/sleep opportunities by implementing hours of service rules.

Level 2 – Make sure that adequate sleep/rest was obtained before work starts. This may include providing information and resources to workers to help them get adequate sleep/rest.

Level 3 – Assess fatigue behavioural symptoms. This can include self-reporting, co-worker observation, and physiological observation (e.g. eye detection in vehicles).

Level 4 – Prevent and detect fatigue-related errors (e.g. lane correction technology in vehicles with warnings prompting the driver to pull over and rest).

Level 5 – Analyse fatigue-related incidents in depth to identify uncontrolled hazards.

The effects of fatigue on work performance can be compared with the effects of alcohol. Being awake for 17 hours impairs performance to the same level as having 0.05 blood alcohol content. Being awake for 20 hours has the same effect as a 0.1 blood alcohol content.10

Actions you can take to improve sleep and manage fatigue

Healthy vision — create polices, practices and a workplace culture that improves sleep and manages fatigue

  • Develop a policy and procedure to identify and manage fatigue-related hazards/risks in the workplace. This should include worker consultation and sector specific recommendations/regulations.
  • Design controls using a ‘defences in depth’ approach and make sure that all affected staff members are consulted throughout the change process. It can help to trial interventions and obtain feedback before officially adopting them.
  • Develop a clear procedure for workers to report fatigue-related risks, including self-reporting of fatigue and co-worker action if someone is displaying fatigue impairment. Include steps for getting fatigued workers home safely (e.g. provide rest areas and transport).
  • Implement flexible working arrangements that better allow workers to meet their personal, occupational, and health needs. Consider the importance of completely disconnecting from work and making clear distinctions between ‘work’ and ‘home’ if working remotely.
  • Provide stable/regular shifts in the casual or shift-work environment as far as reasonably practicable and with as much notice as possible. This allows workers to plan their rest and personal life obligations in advance.
  • Encourage all staff members to use their allocated leave entitlements and ensure that there are adequate levels of staff to backfill leave.
  • Consider the types of leave afforded to your workers and how access (or lack of access) may impact fatigue levels.

Healthy place — create a workplace environment that minimises fatigue

  • Make sure workers have appropriate rest/break facilities to eat and rehydrate. Factor in the work environment, like providing a cool refuge for those working in the heat or a spot for sedentary workers to get some movement and fresh air.
  • Embrace the Principles of Good Work Design provided by SafeWork Australia and consider the fatigue impacts from plant, equipment, materials and substances used.
  • Provide the right equipment for workers to minimise the risk of fatigue.

Healthy people — support workers to gain quality sleep and manage fatigue

  • Educate all staff members on the risks of unmanaged fatigue and how to recognise fatigue in themselves. Use promotional materials around the workplace, toolbox meetings/in-person sessions and online learning modules.
  • Educate all staff on the importance of obtaining adequate sleep/rest and provide them with resources and strategies to achieve this, such as sleep/relaxation apps, or access to professional help for physical or mental health.
  • Help workers who report struggling with sleep/fatigue. This may include making reasonable adjustments to their work and time for specialist appointments including sleep studies.

More resources to help you take action

Sleep and fatigue resource referral guide (DOCX, 463.9 KB)

Safe Work Australia’s guide for managing fatigue is an excellent resource.

Sleep Health Foundation has information and resources on sleep. sleephealthfoundation.org.au

1 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Bedtime reading inquiry into sleep health awareness in Australia, Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, n.d., accessed 2022.

2 Sleep Foundation, The link between sleep and job performance, Sleep Foundation, n.d., accessed April 2022.sleepfoundation.org

3 SA Health, Good sleep = good health, South Australian Government, n.d., accessed August 2022. sahealth.sa.gov.au

4 Sleep Health Foundation, How much sleep do you really need?, Sleep Health Foundation, n.d., accessed August 2022. sleephealthfoundation.org.au

5 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Bedtime reading inquiry into sleep health awareness in Australia.

6 Deloitte Access Economics, Asleep on the job: Costs of inadequate sleep in Australia, Deloitte, 2017, pp i-iii.

7 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, 2019, Bedtime reading inquiry into sleep health awareness in Australia

8 SafeWork Australia [website]

9 Safe Work Australia, Guide for managing the risk of fatigue at work, Safework Australia, n.d., accessed 2022.

10 A Williamson and A Feyer, ‘Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication’, Occup Environ Med, 2000, 57(10): 649–655.