Fatigue at Work

Fatigue at work

In The Netherlands a large-scale, national, research programme on fatigue at work is taking place from 1996- 2004. This multidisciplinary programme includes psychological and medical research and is supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). In addition, universities, occupational health services, private research institutes, trade unions, and the business sector contribute to the programme. The total budget is approximately € 5.5 million (about US$ 5.5 million). Some forty different research projects – mostly PhD, MD or post-doc projects – are included, largely initiated topdown by a programme committee consisting of the four initiators: Theo Meijman, PhD (University of Groningen and Chairman of the programme committee), Wilmar Schaufeli, PhD (Utrecht University), Frank van Dijk, MD (University of Amsterdam), and Gerard Swaen, PhD (Maastricht University). The programme committee is supplemented with two NWO representatives, Charles de Wolff, PhD (Emeritus, University of N ijmegen) and Rob van den Bosch, MD (University of Groningen).

Background and objectives

Fatigue is not only an interesting scientific topic, it is also a pressing social problem. For instance, in The Netherlands about one in every three work-disability benefit recipients is assessed as work disabled on mental grounds. 30,000 Dutch workers receive a diagnosis of this kind every year. A closer inspection of these mental cases reveals a specific profile: the majority suffers from chronic job stress, depression, adjustment disorders or burnout – all mental conditions that are closely related to fatigue at work.

The program has two main objectives:

  1. to improve scientific knowledge of fatigue at work;
  2. to develop scientifically based tools for occupational health practitioners such as diagnostic tools and protocols, and intervention strategies.

The second objective is particularly important as – in accordance with European policy directives – the Dutch Working Conditions Act urges companies and other organisations to pursue an active policy in tackling psychosocial, environmental, and physical riskfactors, reducing sickness absence and workdisablement, and promoting employee health and wellbeing at work.

Scope of the programme

The programme intends to integrate four scientific traditions:

  1. Experimental research in work psychology on mental load and performance. Essentially, fatigue is studied in relation to – mostly experimentally induced – stressors and its effects are investigated on cognitive, emotional and motivational aspects of task behaviour. Typically, psycho-physiological (cardiovascular and neuroendocrine models) and cognitive modelling techniques are used.
     
  2. Clinical and organisational psychological field research on occupational stress and burnout. Traditionally, in this type of research fatigue at work is investigated in relation to specific job stressors and negative outcomes such as poor performance and absenteeism. Explanatory models are used that emphasize the employee’s subjective interpretation of their work situation.
     
  3. Epidemiological research on risk factors or determinants of fatigue related to the incidence and prevalence of fatigue in the working population, including fatigue related absenteeism and work disablement.
     
  4. Occupational health research on prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of mental conditions that are closely related to fatigue at work such as job stress, adjustment disorders, burnout and depression. The development and evaluation of tools for prevention and curative care is essential to promote evidence-based occupational health practice.