I retired 8 years ago so I can't speak to what's happened in the years since I left although I do have some friends still employed in the profession. Fatigue has always been an issue due to the way our schedules were built. It's not a 9-5 job and that's something you either accept or leave to find another line of work. Excessive use of overtime has been an issue at some habitually short-staffed facilities for years but it appears to have infected most facilities now, and that speaks to the ongoing problem of management not being more assertive in their hiring to keep pace with retirements. When they finally do decide to take on more new hires, it's oftentimes done with large influxes of trainees (rather than a smaller, steady stream) which places stress on those training them. I've always felt that training a new controller was easily the most stressful position in the building, at least for me, because I would allow my trainees to paint themselves into situations that while still safe, were stressful to extricate themselves from. It's the best way to learn but it takes nerve on the part of the trainer. It can also lead to burnout as far as continuing to be a trainer. But it's also a very rewarding position as you watch a developmental controller grow in their abilities in the sector, and knowing you played a role in that. I eventually stopped training others for the last couple of years of my career.

Sleeping while working at the sector has been a problem in the past and controllers have been fired for it. I think those instances nearly always occurred on the overnight shift in the early morning hours when working alone. I would sometimes stand at the sector to stay awake if I had to. During the day we'd usually work an hour on and an hour off. We were allowed to nap in the breakroom to help alleviate the lack of sleep our schedules helped cause. Sleeping while on break is still permissible today but with their lack of staffing, there's less time for that benefit.

The pandemic can't be ignored in all of this, either. I know it created a situation where training came to a halt for the most part due to a lack of live traffic to train with. We have simulated training labs but they're not a substitute for the real environment with its garbled transmissions, turbulent air, and deviations for adverse weather. It's entirely possible that some newly minted controllers were certified on traffic levels much less than what they're being asked to work today. I've seen that happen on a rare occasion in normal times but I fear it's gotten worse than at any time when I was working simply because it appears they're more desperate for certified bodies now. Is management being reckless in their certifications of new controllers? I hope not but that may explain some of the deficiencies they're experiencing.

As far as controllers making mistakes on the job; that's nothing new. But it does sound like near-misses are becoming more frequent and more dangerous. No doubt, the lack of staffing and the increased hours due to overtime aren't helping—and likely a lack of experience by newer controllers is contributing to the problem. 

Alcohol and drug use on the job are rare and the consequences for being caught are stiff. A younger controller I was speaking with last week told me that he'd gotten a DUI back in June on his day off. He had to go through treatment and is now on a 'last chance' waiver, meaning, if he's busted again, he's done. It's not a job I would want to show up for impaired. I could see someone trying it at a smaller, less busy facility but not somewhere that handles large volumes of traffic. Drug testing is a thing and that kept most of us in check although I know of a few who regularly smoked weed (while away from work) and got away with it their entire careers. But some didn't. Drug testing became more fool-proof as the years went on. No longer could a person so easily get a piss sample from a friend to use without the testers being wise to what was happening. 

I never saw fights in the workplace but I left before Trump came on the scene. Lots of controllers are conservatives and supportive of the imbecile. I can easily imagine tempers getting heated over political discussions with Trump being the source of the altercations they're seeing today. That's just a guess.

Bugs, rodents, and poor environmental conditions within the workplace weren't an issue where I worked but I don't doubt that those things are a problem at other facilities. I worked at a larger regional center where there was a robust support staff that managed all of that.

I hope I touched on most of what the article talked about. Feel free to have me expand on areas if you'd like.

Here's a blog post I wrote years ago about a typical session in the sector. 

https://onekgguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/zmp-sector-30-1715z.html

Kevin g