Employees Are Falling Asleep at Work After Working Long Hours

The fact that employees fall asleep at work made the news again when a Washington DC, Air Trafic Controller, fell asleep at work at the Reagan International Airport. The aviation industry made news alson in October 2009, when Northwest Airlines pilots missed the Minneapolis airport. Northwest referred to the mishap employees' "loss of situational awareness." That's the airline lingo for saying the pilots may have fallen asleep on the job from fatique.

Having employees who fall asleep at work is not desirable; but unfortunately it happens. When employees in certain professions fall asleep at work the results can be disastrous to both employees and customers. In both cases - the air traffic controller falling asleep and the airline pilots falling asleep, the outcomes could have been much more severe.

Given the nature of the air traffic controllers' job, having one air traffic controller on duty was probably a questionable decision, especially at an international airport with 24-7 operation, in probably the most vulnerable controlled air space in the world, over Washington DC.

Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, expressed similar concerns to Fox News when asked about the air traffic controller falling asleep at work. "It is not acceptable to have just one controller in the tower managing air traffic in this critical air space...I have also asked FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] Administrator Randy Babbitt to study staffing levels at other airports around the country."

Data from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) shows an increase in the number of employees falling asleep at work. Foundation survey report titled Longer Work Days Leave Americans Nodding Off On the Job, showed that almost three out of every ten workers (29%) said they had become very sleepy or even fallen asleep at work in recent months. Thirty six (36%) of respondents said they had nodded off or fallen asleep while driving, and 26% said they drove drowsy during the workday.

In response to the known issues of tired employees who fall asleep at work, some employers are now allowing employees to nap at work. Thirty four (34%) of those responding said their workplace permited napping during breaks at work. Another 16 % reported that their employer even provided a place for them to nap at the workplace.

Which brings us back to the suspended air traffic controller who has admitted to falling asleep because he was tired after working four consecutive night shifts. Knowing all we do about worker behavior, productivity and the body's susceptibility to sleep at night, why would this air traffic controller be solo on duty?

It will be interesting to see if this incident brings any changes in the practices of scheduling air traffic controllers.

Resources:

Fox News - Federal officials investigate report of air traffic controller falling asleep

National Sleep Foundation - Longer work days leave Americans nodding off on the job
TIME Magazine