When evaluating the fatigue level of individual workers
Fatigue level assessment scale in Table 1 of the Guidelines for Assessing and Managing Fatigue is used
The fatigue level is considered higher when the average of the total score divided by 9 is higher
There are several evaluation criteria, but generally, if the average is less than 3 points, fatigue is considered low
and if the average is more than 4.5 points, fatigue is considered high
Workers with severe fatigue symptoms or high fatigue scores
need to be evaluated and diagnosed accurately through consultation with a doctor or an expert
In the case of group level fatigue evaluation
to evaluate the level of work-related fatigue at the workplace, industrial health statistics are used
or directly investigated
There are a number of workplace indicators that can be used to evaluate fatigue
First, absenteeism, tired workers tend to be more absent
Second, worker turnover rate, fatigue leads of job dissatisfaction, increasing the turnover rate
Third, use or abuse of drugs, tired workers tend to drink and smoke more
and they can use more sleeping pills, stimulants, or stimulant drinks
Fourth, workers who are tired from work-related tensions are more likely to suffer damage during work
and the increase in the rate of damage of the workplace can be used as an indicator of fatigue
Fifth, workers who are tired due to loss of production time decrease their production rate
because they experience less work efficiency and more health-related problems
To evaluate the fatigue of these workers, worker surveys, focus group interviews
retirement interviews, etc. can be conducted
In order to identify the work-related factors of fatigue at the workplace, the checklist attached in Table 2 of the Guidelines for Assessing and Managing Fatigue
divided into work organization, shift work design, vacation management,
work environment management, and health management can be used
So how should you manage fatigue?
Let's start with personal care for workers
It's important to take care of your lifestyle
Exercise regularly, quit smoking, refrain from excessive drinking and avoid habitual drug use
Reduce caffeine intake as much as possible, drink enough water, and eat a balanced diet,
meaning to avoid monosaccharide like sugar and to consume enough vitamins and minerals
Maintain an appropriate weight, get enough sleep,
control your workload and get enough rest with efficient time planning
And we need to learn how to positively deal with stress
It's good to make use of relaxation exercises and stretching, and have a habit of
talking to people around you and asking for help when you have a hard time
Workers who work shifts
should perform the lifestyle management of shift workers as suggested in the Health Management Guidelines for Shift Workers
to reduce fatigue caused by shift work
and long-hours workers should implement the personal measures suggested in the Health Management Guidelines for Long-hours Workers
to reduce fatigue caused by long-hours work
Now we will learn about workplace management
Employers must use the following measures to manage fatigue
First of all, in the case of work organization and shift work design
the shift direction should be circulated forward from morning to evening, and to night shift
and sufficient rest time must be given for recovery between work hours
Number of consecutive night shifts must be minimized
and holiday shifts and continuous shifts must be minimized even in the case of a regular worker
and sufficient rest must be provided before returning to work after extended shifts
When organizing a work schedule, work must be mixed and properly reflected rather than simple repetitive work
and workers should participate or their opinions must be reflected in work schedule design or work adjustment
Enough workers must be hired to
minimize overtime shifts and to prepare for increased workload
In terms of vacation management, procedures to reduce and minimize excessive accumulation of annual leave must be prepared
Leave applications must be processed reasonably and leave worker's work must be replaced in a timely manner
By organizing the management and monitoring procedures for work schedules and vacation schedules
consider the needs and impact of the workers when approving leave of workers
In the case of work environment management, ergonomic improvement must be made to unnatural work posture
and work speed and work cycle must be made appropriate
By improving the working environment and minimizing the weight lift through automation
safety measures against dangerous tasks must be prepared
If overtime work is implemented, rest facilities or safe means of returning home must be provided
and convenience in commuting must be provided
In the case of health care, workers must be trained to
quickly report fatigue-related accidents or health problems to managers
Health managers must provide relevant training to help workers prevent and manage fatigue
Employers must use Guidelines for Measuring Job Stress Factors to identify job stress factors at workplaces
and implement Workplace Job Stress Prevention Programs to detect health problems caused by job stress early
and take prompt follow-up measures
Workers must also should be able to report fatigue symptoms and work-related fatigue factors quickly without hesitation
The employer shall implement
the work management and health management suggested in the Health Management Guidelines of Shift Workers
and implement the measures
of the employer and health manager suggested in the Health Management Guidelines for Long-hours Workers for long-hours workers
Employers are responsible for ensuring that workers do not suffer from fatigue through their work
and must arrange procedures to prevent the risk of tired workers putting themselves and others at risk
Specifically, managers must negotiate with employees about overtime or double shifts
Shifts must be kept regular and predictable
giving employees the flexibility to choose their own work schedules
and allowing them to choose shifts on working hours that they prefer and suit their personal preferences, such as night shifts
Adequate working hours must be followed, and shift work must be adjusted to start after 6 a.m.,
and continuous shift work before 7 a.m. must be limited to a maximum of four.
Early shift work reduces the fatigue impact of late shift by reducing working hours,
and changes in shift work must be changed according to the passage of time from morning to afternoon, and to night and must not change against time
Shift rotation must be done quickly, for example, every two to three days and rotation every one to two weeks must be avoided
A shift should not exceed 12 hours
Employees must get enough rest between shifts
Allow up to eight hours of rest in consideration of commuting, eating, and sleep between shifts,
and at least once every three weeks a weekend break schedule must be given
Avoid important tasks at the end of the shift, during hard times during the day or night
To prevent employees from working too much night shift,
the night shift must be limited to four consecutive shifts or two consecutive 12-hour shifts
Employees must take quality breaks during work
Anyone can report fatigue issues to management,
and the employer must make improvements and creates a work environment that does not cause drowsiness
Measures must be taken to avoid overloading one person due to working overtime or working double shift
and any incidents or accidents that may cause fatigue must be thoroughly investigated
And engage workers in improvement through unions
This time, we will look into the role of the union
Union identifies the cause and investigates it with the employer when it thinks fatigue is a problem at work
It raises awareness of the risk of fatigue
and works with employers to create an environment where workers can report when they are tired
It lets workers seek help from employers if they are sick and support the workers who feel tired
and it works with employers to eliminate the cause of fatigue
It also supports union members who are threatened by disciplinary action,
when employer claims that they underperformed due to workers' mistakes or as a result of fatigue
Let's take a look at the P-D-C-A guidelines on fatigue management
P is for PLAN, an action plan
Establish specific policies, such as working hours, overtime, and expenses for fatigue,
and reflect the work place's policies to implement management of this issue
Frontline staff participate in the development and review of the policy
and specify matters concerning the assessment and control of fatigue risks associated with working hours and shifts,
who are affected by the policy, supervisors and directors of management,
and regular reviews and revisions
D is for DO, implementing the policy
Implement workplace fatigue management plans
and provide regular communication opportunities with the organization's health and safety experts
Conduct campaigns to increase health and safety awareness and behavioral change
and discuss health and safety issues with employees and identify the situation during the implementation phase
C is for CHECK
Check whether safety-critical fatigue risks have been specifically assessed,
the review, risk assessment process has been repeated at specific intervals,
major risk cases and points and root causes of fatigue have been investigated,
effective classification and recording systems for working hours
and causes exceeding work policies
Check to see what is effective and what is not for managing fatigue,
and consult with staffs on how to avoid and manage fatigue
Lastly, A is for ACT, acts of improvement
Review health and safety performance and reports to appreciate achievements
and take corrective action in areas where goals have not been achieved
Share results with workers to seek opinions on how to make improvements,
respond to reports from insurance providers, trade union safety representatives,
regulators and central health and safety staff,
audit, health and safety committee recommendations and inspections,
and leverage information to review the planning process
Health checkup is a health management method
that detects physical abnormalities through a doctor's examination and medical examination
and takes appropriate measures when they do not feel any abnormalities on their own
Health refers to a state of no physical illness and of mental and social peace
Workers can get sick due to various factors in their working environment
so they conduct health checkups to detect them early
It is a screening test that informs the possibility of a disease or the existence of a disease
so additional thorough examination is required to accurate diagnose and treatment
In addition, due to the nature of group checkups, it may not be completely searched
so individual checkups according to symptoms are necessary when there are self-aware symptoms
The Special Health Checkup for Night Shift Workers must be conducted as a mandatory health checkup since January 1, 2016,
when it was applied to workplaces with 50 or fewer workers as well
According to the Special Health Checkup for Night Shift Workers, the subjects are first, consecutive eight-hour workers,
working in shifts including the time from 12 p.m. to 5 a.m., more than four times a month on average for six months,
whose cumulative number of shifts over six months is more than 24 times
Second, workers having to work an average of 60 hours or more per month
in the period between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for six months,
working the cumulative hours of 360 or more over six months
In addition, if night shift is irregular, even if it is less than 60 hours per month, if it is accumulated to 360 hours for 6 months,
and if it is at or below the reference boundary in irregular night workplaces, pre-position checkups
and special health checkups should be performed
Looking at the timing and cycle of Special Health Checkup for Night Shift Workers,
the pre-deployment health checkups are tested before starting night shift
However, if the cycle of shift work is irregular
and it is difficult to determine whether you are eligible for Special Health Checkup for Night Shift Workers,
he first special health checkup will be conducted
six months after working at night shifts
After deployment, the first medical checkup is conducted within 6 months,
and the subsequent implementation period is 12 months, the same as general medical checkups
If the working hours of the job are constantly included in the hours subject to Special Health Checkup for Night Shift Workers,
the health checkup is conducted before the worker is assigned to the job,
and the first health checkup is conducted within six months of the placement
The Special Health Checkup for Night Shift Workers items are as follows
In the case of primary health checkup, first, occupational history, exposure, and medical history related to major target organizations are investigated
Insomnia symptoms are examined and abdominal circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides,
and HDL cholesterol are measured, and gastrointestinal and breast cancer-related symptoms are examined
In the case of secondary health checkups, in-depth interviews and questionnaires related to the nervous system are conducted,
blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol,
24-hour blood pressure, 24-hour electrocardiogram are measured, gastroscopy is performed, and mammography and breast ultrasound are performed
According to the Processing of the Results After the Medical Checkup, when the worker conducts the medical checkup,
the medical checkup institution records the results on the personal table of the medical checkup
and sends them to the worker within 30 days from the date of the checkup
In addition, the health checkup result table is sent to the employer within 30 days from the date of the health checkup
If a person has been found to have a disease as a result of the medical checkup,
the relevant worker shall be explained within 30 days from the date of the medical checkup,
the medical findings, the matters necessary for follow-up management, and the suitability of the job performance
In the case of a special health checkup institution, the health checkup result table is submitted
to the head of the local employment and labor office within 30 days from the date of the health checkup
Health checkup results are largely divided into four categories
A is a worker who does not need follow-up care for health care, that is, a healthy worker
CN is a worker who needs follow-up observation on night shift due to the risk of progressing to disease,
i.e. disease observed person
DN is a worker who shows signs of disease and needs follow-up care during the night shift; that is, a person with a disease
R is a worker who has difficulty evaluating their health level or is suspected of having a disease as a result of the first medical checkup,
that is, subject to second medical checkup
Unlike occupational diseases caused by harmful factors of existing special health diagnosis,
the health impact of night shift is caused by both personal and occupational factors together,
so it differs from existing occupational diseases and general diseases
In the case of shift night workers, measures such as shortening working hours, changing jobs, prohibiting and restricting work,
providing sleeping hours during night work, and adjusting shift work schedules are taken
The employer shall submit a report on the results of follow-up measures
to the local employment and labor office within 30 days from the date of receipt of the health checkup results table,
along with the health checkup results table and the follow-up documents or implementation plan,
according to the opinions of the special, occasional, and temporary health checkup results table