Theatlantic.com reported a 2009 study completed by Christopher M. Barnes and David T. Wagner of Michigan State in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The two men looked at 576,292 injuries sustained in the mining industry between the years of 1983 and 2006.
Mondays are rough for most of us, and on any given Monday, the study found that coal miners reported an average of approximately 63 on-the-job injuries.
However, the dreadful Monday after “springing forward” results in 40 minutes less sleep, on average, for most Americans. And Barnes and Wagner saw the on-the-job injuries increase by 3.6 injuries, or 5.7 percent, on the Monday after DST. Not only were there more injuries, but the severity of the injuries increased. “The number of days missed due to an injury on the post-DST Monday rose by 67.6 percent compared with average workplace injuries,” according to the report.
Many studies have been conducted to find the correlation between lack of sleep and productivity/negligence/errors/etc.
The Monday after Daylight Savings Time even comes with an increased risk for auto accidents, according to other studies. However, it is unclear whether this increase stems from fatigue or changes in lighting during the commute.
There are preventative measures to be taken to help avoid workplace hazards. But according to Theatlantic.com, “Even those measures won’t help what are surely the implications of the researchers’ findings: Fatigue on any day means greater risk for workers. It just happens that it’s on the day when everyone is tired together that we can see, statistically, the consequences.”
Did you see a spike in workplace injuries after springing forward? Let us know!