Discovery
A client recognised general issues among their team concerning sleep and fatigue. It was decided that an online seminar would assist the team to learn strategies about workplace design and healthier personal habits to improve their sleep and better manage fatigue. This online forum provided the opportunity to reach a large and widely dispersed, remote, and distributed working team.
Design
The seminar was designed to be interactive and practical through the online format. The implications of sleep deprivation and prolonged or acute fatigue while working were presented. Participants were led through a series of reflections on their sleep and fatigue experiences. They were asked about their key challenges. It was recognised that workplace design and improving sleep hygiene habits had the potential to improve their health and well-being.
During the session, the presenter covered several valuable strategies, and questions were addressed live during the webinar. These questions helped tailor the session to the needs of the group. They included issues such as reducing blue light exposure before bed, circadian rhythms, shift work, stress-related responses to fatigue, and health symptoms that could be better managed or prevented.
Realisation
Several useful strategies and perspectives were covered in the seminar. This included:
- Not letting technology get in the way of sleep cycles (reduce the exposure to digital toxicity)
- Prioritising sleep in the daily cycle
- How to manage energy during periods when fatigue was a factor
- How to manage nightshift and shift work generally
- How to juggle family commitments and work
The seminar highlighted that prioritising sleep and managing fatigue is an important factor for workplace health and well-being, affecting mental health, social relations, health, and safety. The feedback on the
session was positive, with participants feeling like
they had more awareness of how to improve sleep
and better manage fatigue.