Lots of folks get tired at work. But the way fatigue affects one’s work, and how one responds to fatigue, varies greatly by gender.
For instance, according to a survey by Red Bull and Glassdoor, women report being more tired at work than do the men, but the men admit to making more fatigue-related snafus on the job, by a 2-to-1 margin.
Glassdoor and Red Bull quizzed nearly 550 working adults about the toll being tired on the job takes on them. The high level finding: 48 percent said that being tired distracted them on the job. Other major distractions listed were personal communications, cited by 35 percent, and social media, at 19 percent.
The gender distinctions stood out among the survey’s many findings. Glassdoor/Red Bull shared these results:
- Women are more likely than men to be sidetracked from their work by lethargy (53 percent vs. 44 percent) and more women than men (56 percent vs. 42 percent) rely on caffeine to survive the workday, but …
- More men than women admit that being tired has made them overlook meetings (26 percent vs. 13 percent) or deadlines (20 percent vs. 10 percent)
It may not come as a surprise that these surveyors found that caffeine in various types of drinks was the drug of preference among these dosing employees.
Other tidbits from the survey:
- Nearly two in three (66 percent) admit they’ve made mistakes at work because they were tired;
- About one in five admit to missing a meeting (21 percent) or a deadline (16 percent) due to tiredness;
- Two in five have forgotten items they need to do their job;
- Parents are more likely than non-parents (25 percent vs. 16 percent) to reveal they’ve missed a meeting at work due to tiredness;
- 25 percent of 18-44 year olds find themselves getting off-track because of social media, compared to nine percent of those 45 and over;
- 49 percent of respondents said they would be more interested in a job they were applying for if they offered free food and beverages compared to gym memberships (39 percent).
“U.S. workers are so desperate to combat tiredness, 93 percent of respondents said they have taken action to boost their energy at work, with caffeine as a top workplace necessity, even surpassing taking a walk or listening to music. In fact, 48 percent can’t live without caffeine at work and just as many (46 percent) can’t live without office supplies such as pen and paper. Fewer find it essential to have their smartphone or tablet (44 percent) or their schedule (32 percent),” the survey said.
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