Exhausted Workers Raise Safety Risks Across High-Hazard Industries
Safety experts warn that fatigue can impair judgment and lead to system-wide failures, not just individual injuries.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Jan 23, 2026
Worker fatigue is emerging as one of the most persistent and underestimated safety risks across high-hazard industries, according to safety experts who say exhaustion can quietly erode judgment, situational awareness, and decision-making long before an incident occurs.
Susie Scott, Director of Safety at Oliver Wyman Vector and practice lead for safety in North America, said fatigue is often the earliest indicator that a worker may be struggling or no longer fit for duty.
“Fatigue is probably the most obvious thing I look for,” Scott said. “It can show up as distraction, lack of attention, reduced situational awareness, irritability, or a failure to concentrate.”
Some of these warning signs are subtle, she said, and can easily be missed, especially as supervisors spend less time in the field.
“What we’ve seen across industry is an overwhelming amount of paperwork and administrative work,” Scott said. “That means leaders aren’t spending as much time physically with their teams, and if you don’t know your people very well, you may not pick up on some of these things.”
The consequences of fatigue extend far beyond individual performance issues. In high-risk environments, even small lapses caused by exhaustion can escalate quickly.
“We’ve seen people literally fall asleep on the job,” Scott said. “That’s particularly dangerous if you’re driving a vehicle, and that absolutely happens across industries.”
In sectors such as aviation, oil and gas, construction, and electrical work, fatigue-related errors can have systemwide implications.
“In aviation, if I make a critical thinking mistake—whether I’m a maintenance worker, pilot, or ground handler—that mistake can impact the safety of flight,” Scott said. “Now you’re talking about a plane full of passengers.”
Similar risks exist in other industries, she added.
“In oil and gas, a mistake could lead to an explosion, a fire, or a gas leak,” Scott said. “In construction or electrical work, failing to properly lock out or de-energize equipment can result in arc flash or electrocution.”
Scott emphasized that fatigue-related incidents often affect workers beyond the individual who makes the error.
“If someone forgets to de-energize or lock out a piece of equipment because they’re exhausted, the next person who comes onto that job could be the one who gets injured,” she said.
These types of failures, Scott noted, highlight why fatigue should be viewed as an organizational risk rather than an individual shortcoming.
“There are very significant systemwide implications of failure that go much broader than hurting yourself,” she said.
Despite its impact, Scott said fatigue remains one of the most overlooked hazards in workplace safety programs.
“Fatigue affects judgment, reaction time, and decision-making,” she said. “If organizations aren’t paying attention to those warning signs, they’re leaving a major safety risk unaddressed.”
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.