A new study suggests fatigue may be a far bigger workplace safety issue than many Canadians realize, with more than one in five workers reporting unintentionally dozing off at work at least once a week.
The Saskatchewan Employee Fatigue and Lifestyle Study, commissioned by the Saskatchewan Safety Council, found that 22 per cent of respondents experienced unintentional dozing while at work weekly, while 14 per cent said they had nodded off while driving home from work at least once a week.
Researchers recently analyzed the data on sleep habits, fatigue levels and their impact on workplace safety and health.
Experts say those findings are concerning, given the widespread effects sleep deprivation can have on physical health, mental health and workplace performance.
The survey ran from September 2025 to December 2025, garnering responses from 1,794 workers across 15 industry sectors.
Getting a proper night’s rest is “the foundation of our health,” said Nicole Martin, registered respiratory therapist with Careica Health sleep clinic in Saskatoon.
“So many of us have problems getting a good night’s sleep…. It is really normalized in today’s society.”
The study found nearly half of daytime workers reported getting less than six hours of sleep per night, while 45 per cent of shift workers averaged less than five hours.
Researchers also found 68 per cent of workers reported needing sleep aids, while 37 per cent said they used prescription or over-the-counter sleep medications three or more times per week.
“When you are sleep deprived, you will have cognitive impairment, which can certainly affect you at your workplace,” Martin added.
She said the findings highlight the need to change how the general public views sleep.
“I think as a society we have valued productivity but if you are not getting enough sleep, there is only so long you can maintain that.”
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
Ryan Jacobson, CEO of the Saskatchewan Safety Council, said in a news release that there was little Saskatchewan-specific research available on workplace fatigue before the study was commissioned.
“Now we have data that can be used by employers, human resource departments or safety professionals to provide guidance in the development of education. They can review operational policies and create procedures to reduce fatigue-related risk,” Jacobson said.
The findings come as doctors continue to warn that fatigue can have consequences extending well beyond feeling tired.
Mariève Cyr, a resident doctor in psychiatry at McGill University, said both acute and chronic sleep deprivation can impair cognitive function, decision-making and emotional regulation.
“Acute and chronic sleep deprivation has many negative effects. The cognitive ones include decreased hand-eye coordination, attention, and working memory. It also impairs risk assessment and decision-making skills,” Cyr said in an email.
She added that some studies have found being awake for 22 hours or more can affect hand-eye co-ordination in a similar way to having a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 per cent, the legal driving limit in many provinces.
For workers with irregular schedules, the risks can be even greater.
“Doing shift work often leads to circadian misalignment, which is when your internal body clock is not aligned with your work schedule,” Cyr said.
Addressing fatigue a ‘shared responsibility’
The Saskatchewan Safety Council collaborated with Mike Harnett, president of Solaris Fatigue Management, to conduct research and analyze the data.
In an interview with Global News, she said one of the study’s most striking findings was that not only shift workers experience fatigue, and the extent to which daytime workers reported fatigue-related issues was “surprising.”
“Definitely the number one highlight is how many day workers are affected and how significantly they’re being affected,” Harnett said.
While individuals play a role in managing their sleep, Harnett said employers also have a responsibility to address workplace factors that contribute to fatigue.
“We have people that are doing their best to maybe try and get the sleep they need and show up fit for duty, but the reality is there are schedule designs, there are workloads, there are work factors that are contributing to the fatigue of these individuals,” she said.
The study found 85 per cent of respondents reported never receiving formal training or education on fatigue management.
Researchers also found 27 per cent of workers reported self-medicating fatigue symptoms during a typical week, while more than half of shift workers regularly exceeded recommended caffeine consumption levels.
“This is a shared responsibility,” Harnett said.
“We cannot expect that we will prevent fatigue from showing up at the work site. When fatigue is at the work site, how is the organization handling it? How are they managing it?”
Fatigue can increase risk-taking behaviour and make workers less aware of their own impairment, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
Cyr said warning signs of dangerous fatigue can include difficulty staying awake, trouble maintaining attention, feeling slowed down or relying on strategies such as loud music, cold air or caffeine to remain alert.
“If you feel sleepy, have difficulty maintaining your attention, feel slowed down, are irritable, need to use external strategies to stay awake, you are likely at a higher risk of having a car accident,” she said.
The CCOHS recommends getting a good night’s sleep, taking regular breaks, maintaining a healthy diet and avoiding driving while tired to help reduce fatigue-related risks both on the road and in the workplace.
