Stress and fatigue affect workers in almost any work environment, and while depending on the industry, the level of stress among workers may fluctuate, it is certain that its prevalence is not without impact on workplace safety. According to statistics from the European Agency for Safety and Health, more than half of workers in Europe confirm experiencing work-related stress, and up to 4 out of 10 workers believe that their workplace is not taking steps to eliminate stress as a harmful factor. But do stress and fatigue actually have a real impact on the number of accidents at work, and can eliminating them reduce work-related risks in specific occupational areas?
Stress and fatigue as a direct cause of workplace accidents
Increased levels of stress in workplaces have been reported for many years in virtually all industries, and the result of this situation is most often the increasingly dynamic economy and the associated higher expectations employers have of employees. At the same time, the effects of stress in the workplace can be detrimental both to employees, who are more prone to inattention, fatigue, illness and accidents at work, and to employers, who, due to less focused and more stressed employees, may lose out on the efficiency of their team.
Data on accidents at work and their causes are published regularly by the Central Statistical Office, which supports itself with information provided by the Chief Labor Inspectorate. Data from the Social Insurance Institution, which collects information on sick leave and compensation chosen by employees, also knowing the reasons for them, also play a major role. Analyzing the statistical results of all of the above institutions, it can be seen that in recent years the number of accidents resulting from improper mental and physical condition has been increasing, although it is still very small - only 2.5% of all accidents at work. What is noteworthy, however, is that in the case of an accident at work, it is difficult to determine when the cause was stress - distraction can be the result of stress, but not always, so published statistics can be somewhat unclear. The situation changes, however, when we analyze the effects of employees experiencing stress at work and contrast them again with the causes of accidents at work - accidents for which stress could be an indirect factor happen really often.
The effects of experiencing stress and fatigue at work, and the risk of accidents
We already know that stress felt by employees in the work environment can negatively affect both themselves and the employer. The latter has to reckon here primarily with a decrease in employee productivity and quality of service, increased employee absenteeism, an increase in the number of accidents at work, a decrease in the level of management, a decrease in work motivation, and even an increase in conflicts and cases of bullying among employees. Stressed and overly fatigued employees are not a very good addition to the team, which, after all, has a direct impact on the success of the company. Disorders among employees, however, do not come out of nowhere - stress as a factor causes many psycho-physical problems, and it is the latter that are later a direct problem, lowering employees' ability to focus and contributing to often dangerous accidents at work.
From an employee's point of view, long-term stress in the workplace can cause, among other things, mental health disorders (including depression), cardiovascular and musculoskeletal diseases, a sense of job burnout and lack of motivation to work, difficulty focusing (which is a common cause of errors leading to work accidents), problems in one's private life (which can cause distraction, lack of motivation and general depression), and even abuse of alcohol or other drugs. Any of the above problems can directly increase the risk of occupational accidents. Their elimination, however, appears to be much more difficult than for tangible factors that arise from workplace conditions and can be modified or effective safety measures applied.
Social and economic effects of stress at work and related accidents
Companies operating within manufacturing, commerce, healthcare, construction, education, transportation, or public administration are the places where the number of employees reporting problems with stress and the resulting consequences raising the risk of occupational accidents is currently the highest. The cost to companies of increased stress at work is very high - according to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, annual labor market losses in the EU related to depression, sick leave, decreased productivity and treatment of employees related to stress at work amount to as much as €616 billion.
In Poland, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) records an increasing number of sick leaves issued each year due to depression and a general decline in employees' mental and physical health. It is estimated that these dismissals, however, can have quite a positive effect - the knowledge and awareness of employees and employers about stress and its effects is increasing, and employees themselves prefer to rest rather than expose themselves and others to the consequences of their distraction and poor mental state. So, if we add to this initiatives to improve working conditions in companies and counteract the perception of stress by employees, the chances of reducing the number of accidents caused by its effects seem high.
