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More to life

Fatigue affects your

performance

A lack of sufficient rest leads to a
drop in productivity.

t the start of the year, everyone appears a public road!
back at work fresh and rested, having Apart from the role of sleep in managing fatigue,
had a good year-end break. As we hit the another factor that plays a role is getting enough rest
halfway mark of the year, however, signs between work sessions. It’s advisable to get at least
Aof fatigue start appearing and productivity eight hours of rest between work sessions and to not
starts to take a knock. work for longer than five hours without taking a 30
Sadly, many high performers start suffering from minute break.
untreated fatigue which is caused by physical, Have you ever noticed that what took you s-o-
mental and other factors. o-o long to get done at the end of a day, took you a
Physical fatigue is something that is taken seriously fraction of the time to do the next morning when you
in commercial activities that require a high level of were fresh? That’s the effect of fatigue. While you
safety, such as the airline, road transport, mining and might not be aware that you’re slowing down, you
manufacturing industries. The medical profession are. It’s therefore important to build into your working
naturally also requires a high level of safety, and it has routine the necessary rest breaks to ensure you can
been heartening for me to have had the opportunity maintain optimal performance levels.
to conduct fatigue management for doctors training If pilots are required to get specified rest periods
at one of our country’s academic hospitals. between flights, surely a similar principle should apply
But what about those who frequent board rooms to executives and managers responsible for other
and other positions of power who make decisions people? I’m not suggesting that they should have as
that affect the livelihoods and lives of thousands much time off as pilots, but they must make a point
of people in the public and private sectors? Yes, of pacing themselves. The frenetic executive lifestyle
they’re also susceptible to physical, mental and other of 18-hour days are so last century. Companies
fatigue. And their fatigue can affect their judgement which consider themselves to be responsible
and the decisions they make. employers who care for their staff should ensure their
Research in the airline industry has revealed that executives and other staff get the rest they need to
perform at maximum potential.
someone who has been awake for 17 hours has This may require a significant mind shift for some
the mental acuity of someone with a blood alcohol people, but one of my medical colleagues makes a
level (BAC) of 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres. In South very strong case for sufficient rest enabling one to
Africa, according to the National Road Traffic Act get through a lot more than one would get through
(NRTA), Act 93 of 1996 as amended, it is illegal without rest. Rest is not for sissies. It’s for smart
for someone with a BAC of 0.5 grams or higher to people who want to deliver exceptional value in
operate a motor vehicle on a public road. everything they do!
So, next time your company has an “away”
strategic planning session that gets everybody up
at the crack of dawn and then pushes late into the Alan Hosking is the Publisher of HR Future
night with key decisions being made at 22:00 or magazine, www.hrfuture.net. He helps leaders
23:00 because the CEO says you’ve just got to suck acquire new leadership skills to lead into the future,
it up and get it done, be aware that the decisions and is an age management and self-mastery coach
are being made by people who fall into the same to senior executives. Alan is the author of best seller
category as people considered too drunk to drive on What nobody tells a new father, available at amazon.com.

48 JUNE 2018 · HR FUTURE