Fatigue

Fatigue, a common term denoting a decline in physical and mental resources, has long been closely associated with work and the exertion it demands, as Bernardino Ramazzini observed around 1700 in numerous trades. The link is generally so strong that, broadly speaking, the hardship endured by workers has long been regarded by the ruling classes as a normal phenomenon, except during periods when popular protests—traceable as far back as the Middle Ages and sometimes directed at working hours or, more often, at pay—challenged its excessive nature. However, in the second half of the19thcentury, this normality was called into question in the public arena, driven by both scientific inquiries into productivity and health concerns, against a backdrop of social unrest.