Work-Related Fatigue: A Hazard for Workers Experiencing Disproportionate Occupational Risks

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cavallari J ; Cunningham, Thomas R. ; Ferguson J ; Guerin, Rebecca J.
• Description:
  Background: Long working hours and fatigue are significant occupational safety and health (OSH) hazards for working populations who experience disproportionate risks of injury and illness. These groups include young or new workers, aging workers, contingent and temporary workers, immigrant and nonnative workers, female workers, minority workers, workers with low levels of education and lower socioeconomic status, and small business employees. An increasing focus on newer determinants of health in the workplace, such as health equity and work-life conflict, in worker populations at greater risk for injury or illness, provides an opportunity for researchers to address the causes and consequences of work-related fatigue in high-risk populations. Methods: Articles in the OSH literature that addressed fatigue in higher-risk workers were identified by the authors or recommended by subject matter experts in workplace fatigue as part of a Working Hours, Sleep and Fatigue Forum. Additional articles were identified by searching for a combination of specific at-risk worker group titles (e.g., female workers, temporary workers) with fatigue or working hours. Results: There remains a paucity of research specifically addressing working hours and fatigue among disproportionately at-risk worker populations. The literature reviewed in this paper suggests that several of these populations are at increased risk of fatigue due to multiple factors, such as irregular shifts, lack of access to fatigue management resources, and socioeconomic barriers. Conclusions: More research is needed to identify solutions to address fatigue in working populations who may be at greater risk for its consequences by virtue of adverse socioeconomic and related factors. Interventions to address work-related fatigue in specific at-risk worker groups should also consider the multiple and overlapping categories of risk within these populations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Emigration And Immigration Fatigue Occupational Health Safety Sleep Sleep Initiation And Maintenance Disorders
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Author Keywords: At-risk Populations Health Equity Immigrant Workers Occupational Health Disparities Occupational Safety And Health Sleep Deprivation Socioeconomics Temporary Workers Work-life Balance Working Hours Work Schedules

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Connecticut ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSI - Division of Science Integration
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  65
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064475
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2022 Nov; 65(11):913-925
• Contact Point Address:
  Thomas R. Cunningham, Division of Science Integration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1090 Tusculum Ave, MS C-10, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  TCunningham@cdc.gov
• Editor(s):
  Wong I; Swanson N
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fb3b3efb2a435ffdea4eb8790459473fbe87782e109ab96e5dd75f5411a9ddf11b9c5e6dab3b669325dfe417e071b8ac93239fc1c7dc69c1b9db64e67a59c9be
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222928/cdc_222928_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 790.26 KB ]