22 Oct Sleep Loss Should Be An Enormous Concern For Workplaces
It’s expected for staff members to walk into work sleepy-eyed and yawning, waiting for their morning coffee to kick in. They will continue to take coffee breaks to stay caffeinated and motivated throughout the workday until they have to clock out. Workplaces should be genuinely concerned that their employees are regularly pushing through their fatigue.
Why is it a concern for workplaces?
Employees trying to push through their workday even though they are physically exhausted is not a rare occurrence — according to a survey from the Conference Board of Canada, almost thirty percent of Canadians go to work tired for most of their work week. This information should be a major concern for workplaces because fatigue can impact the productivity, the safety and the harmony of an office.
The Conference Board of Canada survey revealed that over forty percent of the respondents noticed that their fatigue negatively affected their productivity and the quality of their work. More importantly than reduced productivity, there is a heightened risk of workplace accidents from lack of sleep or from extremely long work shifts — the chances of injury or fatality are highest when operating heavy machinery or driving a vehicle.
Exhaustion will also cause employees to have mood swings, making them more sensitive to stressors. They are more likely to be irritable or rude to their colleagues, to their superiors and to customers. Prioritizing healthy sleep will help with office-wide communication and create a better work environment.
What can workers do to stop sleep loss?
They can try their hardest to get between seven to nine hours of sleep every single night. People who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea should invest in lifestyle changes to combat exhaustion. A case study by the worker’s compensation provider WorkSafeBC revealed that sleep apnea is linked to workplace injuries — almost ten percent of the group of patients in the study experienced occupational injuries in the short span of five years.
One of the most effective lifestyle changes that people with obstructive sleep apnea can make is to get a continuous positive airway treatment device, also known as a CPAP machine. They should visit the ultimate source for CPAP equipment in Vaughan to browse through the selection of devices from leading companies like ResMed, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Philips Respironics and Human Design Medical. The device has an attached face or nasal mask that boosts the air pressure inside of your throat so that it doesn’t collapse during the night — this means that your snoring and gasping stops and that your sleep goes on uninterrupted.
If you don’t happen to live in Vaughan, you can talk to trained representatives and look at your options for CPAP supplies in Mississauga and in the city of Toronto. For people living with obstructive sleep apnea that aren’t close to these urban centres, you can easily get your CPAP supplies in Barrie and save yourself the time and money of a long drive.
What can employers do to stop sleep loss?
Employees are not the only ones who should think about the consequences of sleep loss — their bosses should also think about how to encourage their staff to be rested and healthy. They can make sure to give their employees manageable workloads and realistic hours so that they don’t leave the office overwhelmed and return in the morning exhausted.
Some innovative companies like Procter & Gamble and Google have placed pods in the office designed for napping at work — their employees can leave for the length of a coffee break to get some sleep and have a boost in energy when they’re done.
Sometimes productivity doesn’t lie in earlier start-times, longer hours and extra projects. Pushing the body’s physical and mental limits will always result in poor quality work and an unstable environment. Offices can get the positive results and relationships they are looking for when they encourage their staff to be healthy.