Extended-hours operations, with employees on the job outside of7 a.m. to 7 p.m., have significantly higher rates of absenteeismand turnover, according to the sixth annual Shiftwork Practicessurvey by Circadian Technologies.

Managers at 10 percent of the facilities participating in thesurvey reported that their employees are severely fatigued, up from6 percent in 2002. The survey found that workers' compensationclaims are 15 times higher at operations with severe fatigueproblems than at those reporting no fatigue problems. It also foundthat facilities banning employee napping, an effective measureagainst fatigue, have workers' compensation costs four times higherthan those that do not prohibit napping.

In 2003, absenteeism rates averaged 5.8 percent amongextended-hours workers, three times higher than the average rate of1.9 percent for the entire United States workforce over the sameperiod. Transportation, processing, and health-care industries havethe highest absenteeism rates at 7.2 percent, 6.9 percent, and 6.8percent, respectively. After factoring in the costs of findingreplacements, management time, and overtime pay, employer costs forextended-hours employee absenteeism average $3,490 per worker peryear, compared with an annual average of $925 for daytimeemployees.

Fatigue also affects workers' compensation costs. Industriesreporting the most employee fatigue problems were processing,health care, and transportation industries that either encompassdangerous occupations or directly affect the health and safety ofothers.

“In continuous processing operations, much of the work ismonotonous and performed in control rooms, but highly dangerouswhen something does go wrong,” said Alex Kerin, a Circadianconsultant and principal author of the report. “Long hours fordoctors, nurses and other health- care practitioners can lead tofatigue-related judgment errors that may harm their patients.Transportation, which is the likeliest sector to experiencefatigue-related accidents, has by far the most severe fatigueproblems, with 27 percent of companies reporting severe fatiguelevels. This, too, poses danger to both employees andpassengers.”

Kerin speculated that higher levels of severe fatigue may berelated to an increase in average overtime rates to 12.6 percent in2003 from 11.9 percent in 2002, as employers seek to meet thegrowing demand associated with the economic recovery without hiringnew employees. He predicted that fatigue will become an even morepressing issue with the passage of legislation such as New Jersey's“Maggie's Law,” which makes drowsy driving a criminal offense.

Napping has been documented as an effective fatiguecountermeasure and can reduce employer liability associated withaccidents, according to Kerin. The number of facilities forbiddingand using disciplinary measures against employee napping rose tonearly 57 percent, up from 38.2 percent in 2002. Facilities openlypermitting napping declined to 7.1 percent from 11.3 percent lastyear. The average annual workers' compensation cost for facilitieswith disciplinary measures against napping was almost four timeshigher, at $2,077 per employee, versus $516 for those allowingnapping.