For some industries here in Indiana and Illinois, work never stops. Operations continue day and night to maximize efficiency and profit. Employees are hired in shifts, either full-time or part-time, to keep things humming. For instance, this month Indiana steel mills had openings for day shift lathe operators; overnight shift dispatchers; and night shift tube mill helpers, while Illinois warehouses were hiring night shift forklift operators; third shift (10:30 pm – 6:30 am) warehouse operators; and day shift truck unloaders.
Shift work may be critical to our local industries, but it creates its own safety hazards. There is a well-understood and scientifically recognized increased risk of sleep deprivation or sleep disturbance with shift work that can impair the worker and create a danger on the worksite.
Fatigue, as a form of workplace impairment, can result in serious or fatal on-the-job accidents and bodily injuries for both the fatigued shift work employee and others involved in the incident.
See, Åkerstedt, Torbjörn, and Kenneth P. Wright. “Sleep loss and fatigue in shift work and shift work disorder.” Sleep medicine clinics 4.2 (2009): 257-271.
What Is Shift Work?
When a company operates continuously, employees are needed to work both day and night in what are scheduled as “shifts” that can be defined by the employer in any number of ways. There can be:
- standard day shifts, where the worker is on the job from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm;
- night shifts, where the employee is at work overnight, g., 8:00 pm – 5:00 am;
- midnight shifts, where work happens between 12:00 am – 8:00 am;
- split shifts, where the worker has two different shifts on the same day; and
- swing shifts, where the employee handles things between the standard day shift and the night shift, e.g., 3:00 p.m. – midnight.
Jobs are offered and accepted with specification that shift work will be required. Often, extra pay is involved for those who are being asked to work the more difficult shifts (as for instance, the midnight shift at a steel mill).
Shift Work, Sleep, and Fatigue
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), while workers can be working impaired because they are fatigued for any number of reasons, sleep disruptions are the primary reason for worker fatigue.
What is Fatigue?
OSHA defines “fatigue” as “the body’s signal that a rest period is needed….” As for sleep’s impact upon worker fatigue, OSHA explains the human body is controlled by a circadian rhythm that internally programs the need for sleep. Our bodies are naturally set for sleeping when it is dark outside.
Shift work, particularly irregular shifts, not only increases internal stress on the worker, it disrupts this natural internal sleep cycle in a serious way.
How Is Fatigue Dangerous for Shift Workers?
Shift workers are not able, unless they consistently work a standard daytime schedule, to comport with their body’s internal circadian rhythm. Over time, this can result in sleep deprivation and fatigue. Fatigue is more than being a bit tired. Fatigue is an altered state in the ability to function. Human beings that suffer from fatigue will exhibit any number of symptoms, such as:
- Weariness
- Sleepiness
- Distraction
- Irritability
- Fuzzy Thinking
- Impaired Decision Making
- Delayed Reactions
- Memory Loss
- Slacking / Lack of Motivation
- Sluggishness.
These symptoms can be very dangerous for the shift worker, especially those involved in high-risk endeavors. Commercial truck drivers; forklift operators; welders; etc., who are working fatigued on shift work face a greater risk of being involved in a serious or fatal accident resulting from these fatigue symptoms. Others nearby to the worker may also suffer harm in the incident.
Of note, OSHA data reveals that workplace accidents and jobsite injuries are eighteen percent (18%) greater during the evening shifts, and a shocking thirty percent (30%) higher during night shifts.
Fatigue Considered as a Type of Worker Impairment
The National Safety Council (“NSC”) confirms that a great majority of employers in this country are concerned about worker impairment on the job that involves things like mental health issues and the use of substances and drugs, both legal and illegal. Accordingly, the NSC is working with industry leaders and other safety agencies in expanding the focus of “worker impairment” to include an emphasis upon physical factors involving worker fatigue on the jobsite.
Illinois’ NSC found 93% of employers agreed with a broader description– one that extends beyond substances to include health and wellbeing. From NSC President Lorraine Martin:
“The National Safety Council has been the nation’s safety watchdog for more than 100 years, identifying emerging issues and developing resources to help keep workers safe from the workplace to anyplace. We believe the issue of impairment is multifaceted and therefore requires an approach that recognizes all aspects of it. We urge employers to join us in looking at impairment through the new lens that our current moment demands.”
Shift Worker Accidents and Claims for Justice in Indiana and Illinois
As a form of workplace impairment, and a known health hazard facing shift workers in a number of industries, employers should take all reasonable and prudent steps to minimize the dangers of shift work fatigue as part of their legal duties of care and safety in the workplace. Companies can, and should, undertake policies and procedures designed to prevent worker fatigue shift work accidents.
Shift workers should expect their employers to do things like:
- Having set standards in place to recognize worker fatigue on the worksite;
- Having established programs drawn up to reduce the likelihood of worker fatigue on the job that meet the specifics of the particular shift work involved;
- Scheduling breaks during every shift that allow time for the shift workers to refresh themselves;
- Scheduling a prudent amount of time between particularly hard shifts, such as night shifts, midnight shifts, and graveyard shifts;
- Educating supervisors on the symptoms of worker fatigue; and
- Having fatigue response procedures in place for shift workers suffering fatigue on the job site.
In some instances, there are legal restrictions in place to protect against worker fatigue which the employer must follow. For instance, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration oversees federal regulations that limit the hours of service for both “property carrying drivers” and “passenger carrying drivers.” Railroad employees are also protected by specific federal regulations that limit their work shift schedules. These create separate and independent legal duties that the employer must meet for shift workers.
For any shift worker in Indiana or Illinois who is severely injured or killed while on the job, there is a legal right to investigate whether or not workplace impairment fatigue has been a factor in the incident. Not only may the shift worker be able to seek legal redress pursuant to state workers’ compensation laws, but there may be legal claims to be filed based upon negligence, wrongful death, and more.
For more, read:
- Deadly Truck Crashes and New FMCSA Proposed Rollbacks to Hours of Service (HOS) Rules
- Railroaders: Railroad Accidents on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
- Fatigue and Fatal Injuries on the Job: Exhausted Workers and Workplace Accidents
- The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents
- Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Indiana and Illinois.
Fatigue in shift work is a serious concern for workers here in Indiana and Illinois, especially those who are on the job after sunset. Workplace injuries caused by fatigue are preventable accidents that often have tragic results. Please be careful out there!
