Physical workload and bodily fatigue after work: cross-sectional study among 5000 workers

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Ergonomics
• Public Health

Background:

• Persistent bodily fatigue after work may signal an imbalance between job demands and worker capacity.
• Physical work exposures are a potential contributor to post-work fatigue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the associations between physical exposures at work and bodily fatigue experienced after work.
• To determine if the number of combined physical exposures influences fatigue levels.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 5377 Danish workers with physical jobs completed questionnaires on physical exposures and post-work fatigue.
• Binary logistic regression models were used to analyze associations, controlling for confounding factors.

Main Results:

• Both younger and older workers exposed to physical demands like 'bending/twisting the back' for over a quarter of their workday reported increased fatigue.
• An exposure-response relationship was evident: the more combined physical exposures, the higher the odds of experiencing bodily fatigue.
• Odds ratios for fatigue increased significantly with the number of combined physical exposures for both younger and older workers.

Conclusions:

• Individual physical exposures showed some association with fatigue, but the cumulative effect of multiple exposures was more pronounced.
• Workplaces should prioritize addressing the sum of combined physical exposures to effectively mitigate worker fatigue, rather than focusing on single factors alone.