Bir Otomotiv Sektörü İşyerinde İskelet Birimi İmalatı Çalışanlarının İçme Suyu Tüketim Özellikleri ile Yorgunluk İlişkisinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

There is a relationship between employees' physical and psychological health and well-being and water consumption behavior. Consuming adequate drinking water is essential to protect employees from heat risks and prevent negative effects on physical performance. Water consumption planned by individual characteristics and working conditions is an applicable, economical, and necessary preventive measure for employee fatigue and the problems of attention deficit, work accidents, and absenteeism that may arise from fatigue. This study aimed to determine the relationship between drinking water consumption and fatigue levels of employees in the skeletal manufacturing unit of a workplace in the automotive industry. Sleepiness is measured by Epworth scale. Data were collected online. Participants' fatigue levels were assessed both short-term and long-term using the Short Fatigue Form (SFF) and the Check Individual Strength (CIS) Scale. Higher scores on both scales indicated increased fatigue. In addition to descriptive statistics, statistical analyses included binary analyses and linear regression models to examine the relationship between work-life characteristics, water consumption habits, workplace water consumption variables, amount of water consumed, self-reported sleep patterns and quality, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The study involved 228 male participants aged 21–51, 83.3% of them are married and 77.2% are high school or vocational school graduates. Of the participants, 63.2% worked as welders and 67.1% reported sleeping less than 7 hours per night. The average daily water consumption reported was 1762.6 ± 973.56 ml. The group’s average KYF total score was 24.85 ± 15.41, and the average CIS total score was 60.60 ± 21.67. Fatigue is a significant risk factor for employees and is among the causes of workplace accidents. This study statistically identified the relationship between fatigue, drinking water consumption, and sleep characteristics. According to the regression modeling results: Statistically significant differences were observed between sleep quality, Epworth scores drinking water amount, and CIS scores. CIS scores increase as sleep quality -based on declaration- decreases and drinking water consumption decreases (in orderly, <0.01 and <0.05). As the Epworth scale score increases, the CIS score increases (<0.01). In the bivariate analysis of this study, the water drinking patterns, the habit of drinking water at home before coming to work, and the habit of drinking water during breaks, which were observed to affect the CIS scores, did not show a statistically significant difference in the regression modeling. However, these variables have an impact on the amount of drinking water. These two results reveal that the actual CIS scores and the amount of drinking water consumption are related. Otherwise, a moderate positive correlation is found between CIS and SFF. The approach to increasing the amount of drinking water consumption should be considered in occupational life and individual habits. The study’s recommendations include organizing training sessions for employees on the importance of sleep hygiene and sufficient and planned water consumption and establishing a Workplace Drinking Water Management System in workplaces.