Scheduling can be one of the most complicated aspects of managing a functional and effective workplace. One of the biggest risks to health and safety on the job is fatigue. As such, planning a work schedule that balances the need for effective project support and fatigue avoidance will help you keep your team focused, productive, and safe on the job. Here are a few tips to help you get there.
Schedule Variety
A big element of workplace fatigue has to do with repetition. To help prevent fatigue, help your employees by enabling them to not always do the same task. Variety in terms of tasks helps keep employees interested and focused on their work. Planning this can be difficult when working with specifically skilled workers, but as much as possible, try to bring some variety to everyone’s workday to help fight off fatigue.
Consider Flexible Shifts
There are several creative ways to offer flexibility to your entire team without sacrificing productivity or accountability. Consider building in more flexibility to your schedules by adding in planned remote work or flex-hours. Allowing for remote work has the added benefit of reduced overhead costs of employees, particularly if they are 100% remote. Laptops and other portable hardware are substantially more cost effective than a traditional office or even cubicle set up. Time-agnostic work and job sharing are two additional forms of flexibility that many employers can really get behind. So long as the work gets done, and done well, the shared benefit for both the employee and employer are well worth the effort. And it can greatly help reduce workplace fatigue by making sure employees have the time they need at home to get their rest.
Focus on Health
It’s important as an employer to really get behind the message of workplace health and wellness. That includes a strong work-life balance, consistent sleep schedule, healthy eating, proper health care and exercise. Make sure your teams know you fully support and will help enable them to live healthy and productive lives as a member of your workforce.
Use A Staffing Agency
Some employers try to avoid hiring temporary staff because of the increased upfront cost and the time it takes to bring a new staff member up to speed. These issues, while real, are generally short term in nature and not an issue compared to the difficulties companies who overwork their staff deal with. Increasing your headcount, even with temporary staff, can help provide a more talented and diverse staff.
Temporary staff are often more flexible in terms of their work schedule and salary. They are often some of the best sources of new regular hires as they are familiar with the work and processes on the job site. Hiring temporary workers is a great way to test out a new staff member to see whether their skills and qualifications fit a position well enough to be brought on full time. Compared to the long-term impact that overtime can have on an employee, bringing on a temporary worker to jump in and help at a moment’s notice really can help ease the workload in the short term as well as in the future.
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