“Fatigue and Stress”
By Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist
Summer is here and along with it comes the long hours that coincide with planting, grain harvest, putting up hay, or shipping cattle. Long hours in the workplace often lead to fatigue and stress, which both have serious consequences. Fatigue in the workplace is one of the leading causes of workplace accidents. Stress is a normal emotional response but it is associated with a number of negative outcomes. Short-term consequences of stress include headaches, trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating and short temper. Chronic stress may result in insomnia, anxiety, hypertension, heart disease, obesity and depression. Therefore, even though we have to “do the work when the work has to be done” it is important to give our employees and ourselves opportunities to de-stress. Those opportunities can take many different forms, short breaks, leaving a few minutes early, or taking everyone to town for lunch. Although, it may take more time to get the work done, or all the work might not get done (it rarely does anyways), it might be time well spent if it prevents an accident.
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu
