There’s nothing quite as scary as an accident happening somewhere you should feel safe. Workplace accidents occur every day and cost human lives and human pain. Unfortunately, there’s no way to stamp all of these accidents out, but there are some ways to help you avoid them while you’re working. Not every accident is just random happenstance, so it’s possible to change your circumstances against them.
Trips and Falls
Slipping, tripping, and falling go hand in hand. These injuries can go from a scuffed elbow to a broken ankle just by the angle at which someone falls. Therefore, these happen the most often and are the largest reason for an individual to call a work accident lawyer. Although not every case of this type of injury is significant, these should still be avoided.
The best way to keep falls, slips, and trips at bay, is clear signage and not rushing employees. Signage to point out a large step, wet floors, cables, and cords can help your employees pay attention to their surroundings. If you rush your employees too much, they may overlook these signs and other hazards and may become harmed in the meanwhile. Suppose you can minimize the possibility of these happening, like adding guard rails, only allowing mopping when the building is empty, or covering cables with a flat surface. In that case, you can do your business and your employees a big favor.
Lifting
We may not often think of picking things up as a way to injure ourselves, but it’s widespread. People who don’t know how to pick items up safely may lift with their backs and throw them out of alignment, while others who overestimate what they can carry may attempt to pick up objects that are far too heavy for them. Set a rule that employees get trained on how to lift things safely, and also that on particular items, they have to lift things with the help of another employee. This plan protects the company from most liability and ensures the employees have adequately trained on handling picking items up safely.
Stress
Although this may not sound like a direct reason for workplace accidents and harm, it is. When people stress out, their ability to pay attention and work goes down, and their likelihood of getting injured goes up. This plan doesn’t mean that any slight inconvenience will end with someone hurt or injured, but it does mean stress can add to the likelihood.
When we stress out, our bodies have a physical reaction. We can feel our heart rate go up, our body temperature rises slightly, and our ability to make rational decisions goes down. This planning means we may rush and make mistakes that we often wouldn’t make when level headed.
To combat stress in the workspace, it’s essential that all employees are treated respectfully and feel secure in their jobs. We can’t stop stress from happening before or after they arrive at their jobs, but we can ensure that they’re not getting yelled at or belittled when working.
