Injuries at Work and Ways to Avoid Them

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Legal )



Offices and workplaces, aside from bringing out productivity in people, also cause injuries – from simple bruises to fatal accidents. Various reasons lead to injury at work. These include jobs requiring tasks which could lead to overexertion, falling from a height, repetitive motion, being struck by or against objects, among others.

In Great Britain, the rate of fatal injury at work increased from 0.8 to 1.1 per 100,000 workers or a 34 per cent increase for the period April 2000 to March 2001 according to the published provisional figures of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Industries such as construction, followed by extraction and utility supply and agriculture posed the most number of major injuries to employees.

In the United States meanwhile, the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index reported that the cost of work place injury reached $45.8 billion in 2001 – covering direct costs associated with payments to employees who were injured and their medical care providers.

Globally, companies try to scale down work place injury costs. One major initiative is applying principles in “ergonomics” which is a term derived from Greek words “erg” meaning work and “nomoi” meaning natural laws. By studying human capabilities required in various work tasks, different labor practices have been altered to promote healthier and happier employees. Steps include adopting work activities which allows employees to take on several different, healthy and safe postures; designing workplaces with ergonomics in mind as well as designing the workstation and using ergonomically-designed tools and office equipment.

Another measure to avoid injury at work, employers require applicants to undergo health exams and various physical performance tests to measure their fitness before getting them to work on specific tasks. Many top companies place a premium on health pre-employment requirements, taking over an applicant’s other qualifications if you are deemed.

As work place injury is minimized, companies reap economic benefits: productivity increases as injury claims and missed workdays are lessened. Over time, insurance expenses are reduced and employee turnover is reduced when workers enjoy their jobs more and experience less injury.


All rights Reserved © Tradenet Services srl
Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.