Dive Brief:

• Sleep as a workplace safety issue may seem only applicable for trucking and other transportaion industries. But some experts believe employee fatigue will emerge in many other industries as well, according to an article at SHRM.org.
• One such expert, Howard Mavity, is an attorney with Fisher & Phillips in Atlanta whose family owned a trucking company. He believes "employee fatigue" could be the next big issue that unions and other groups will push, along with general safety concerns and demands for a living wage.
• The article says there likely will be efforts to regulate sleep in other industries in order to prevent the accidents and bad judgment that come with a lack of rest. For example, there has long been concern over consecutive hours worked by medical residents. 

Dive Insight:

“I think this could take off in the U.S.,” Mavity told SHRM. And while transportation regulations focus on sleep, he said, “it’s the wild west for almost everything else.”

In healthcare settings, for instance, Mavity said the message needs to be sent that employers should should not risk being sued for malpractice, and its employees are to get an adequate amount of sleep. Accreditation groups have established “guidelines,” but those efforts seem to have little effect.

“Few managers take this seriously,” he said. “There needs to be a connection to preventing fatigue, and reviews, mentorship, and compensation of management,” he told SHRM.org.

Also, HR in affected industries should that the message to management on why employees need rest. That way, employers can avoid accidents, workers’ compensation claims or even lawsuits for willful negligence, he concluded.