Partner Article

Work Is Work: Safety Risks at the Office

Most office workers don’t consider potential injury to be a part of their job. The assumption is that work-related injuries only occur on crab boats in the Bering Sea, or on oilrigs in North Dakota, or among fire crews in the West. You might think work-related injuries usually involve heavy machinery, manual labor and industrial projects. Sure, injuries happen in these places, but just because your office workers don’t wear hard hats and steel-toed boots doesn’t mean that they’re not at risk for their own, different kinds of work-related injuries.

That’s why safety in the office is often overlooked; the stereotype is that only industrial, physically challenging jobs experience injury. Since many of us believe the stereotype, preventable injuries often happen in the office. Your office workers might not need hard hats and steel-toed boots, but they may need other preventative safety protection.

You’ve heard the argument: “My job is harder than your job because I have to use a shovel eight hours a day.” That’s not really the point, is it? It’s like comparing apples and oranges; physical labor in a warehouse is very different from the kind of labor in an office building. Likewise, you should take different safety precautions in the office than you might at a construction sight.

Like what?

Work consistently at a desk for a month and see what happens. You begin to feel soreness in your neck that does not go away at night. You feel the need to stretch your back often, but you cannot think of anything that might have caused the sharpness there. Subtlety is the killer here. Office injuries can often develop over extended periods—becoming worse and worse—but white-collar workers often feel that they have no “good” reason to see a doctor or chiropractor.

Office injuries are a serious risk because they go ignored and untreated, but many of these injuries are very preventable. That’s why awareness is key. Your office workers should feel comfortable raising concerns over strains they feel on their body. Get rid of that stereotype that “you don’t need a break from sitting,” when, really, you do.

Why?

Our bodies aren’t designed for sitting, but for movement. Encourage your office workers to stand while they work, to stretch and walk around at common intervals. Typing thousands of words a day can also put unnatural strain on the body. Some employees risk developing Carpel Tunnel Syndrome or tendonitis, and it’s important that you take safety precautions for these kinds of injuries. Invest in office equipment to keep your employees safe and build in some active time into the schedule to avoid huge problems for your staff later.

How’s that?

Just as these injuries develop over time, they also take time for these to heal. That means that some of your most talented employees won’t be able to perform. That also means that your employees won’t feel comfortable at work—they won’t feel like they can voice their concerns or take breaks—and employees who don’t feel comfortable at their job don’t tend to stay at those jobs if they can help it.

Create safety in your office workplace. Provide protection. You don’t need to enact huge expenditures to prevent these injuries, but you do need to be aware. Your employees will respect you more for that awareness.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Danielle M. .