Stress & Fatigue
There are a number of potential occupational health problems fishers can be exposed to. The most common ones are hearing loss, chemical exposure, stress and fatigue. Hearing protection and chemical exposure are discussed elsewhere in this system. Stress is a complex issue and no two individuals will be affected in the same way. Fatigue is one of the common outcomes of stress and can have a significant impact on health and safety at work.
- Workplace stress can be described as the negative result of the interaction between a person and their work environment. For the person it is the awareness of not being able to cope with the demands of their work environment, with an associated negative emotional response. This means that employers must have systems in place to monitor the work environment and ensure that hazards in that environment do not cause employees either physical or mental harm.
- Common personal symptoms include anxiety, depressed states, poor sleep patterns, headaches, fatigue, increased blood pressure and hyperventilation. Organisational symptoms include high absenteeism and staff turnover, low staff morale, poor employment relations, high accident and illness rates and low quality work and low productivity.
- Fatigue has been defined as "a reduction in physical and/or mental capability as the result of physical, mental or emotional exertion which may impair nearly all physical abilities including strength, speed, reaction time, coordination, decision-making or balance".
Common symptoms of fatigue are a general feeling of weariness, slow thinking, reduced alertness and ability to perform tasks, forget fulness, lethargy, poor decision-making and communication, and slowed reaction time.
Guidelines
- Fatigue and stress are the enemies of safety. Get as much rest as you can, eat well and try to stay warm and dry. The more comfortable you are the less fatigue and stress will affect you.
- Fatigue affects your strength, your co-ordination and your judgment and makes you more likely to have an accident.
- Know your limits and be extra careful when you’re tired or under stress.
- If you feel like you’re too tired to do your job safely, tell yourSkipper.
