Employers in the U.S. alone spend nearly $1 billion a week on wage payments and medical care for workers hurt on the job. Whether it is machinists not wearing PPE or desk rats sitting all day, sometimes the best employees won’t even admit they are in pain.

Sure, wearing a tie to work could kill hundreds of men each year — if you believe scaremongers in the media. Because a high school in the United Kingdom earlier this month banned students from wearing ties on the principle that they could be too dangerous, pupils must now go to school wearing a clip-on tie or no tie at all.

But focusing on the realm of reality and likelihood, any workplace — even the cubicle — can pose a threat to health and safety.

Based on the latest available numbers, employers in the United States alone spend nearly $1 billion a week on wage payments and medical care for workers hurt on the job, according to the 2005 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, which estimates that employers paid out $50.8 billion in 2003. Earlier this year, Confined Space’s final post noted that “more than 15 workers are killed every day on the job in this country and a worker becomes injured or ill on the job every 2.5 seconds.”

Most companies in the U.S. are extremely sensitive about maintaining the safest possible working environment in their plants or mills, and managers are serious about enforcing rules and policies that protect the health and safety of all employees.

Yet in a survey distributed by Kimberly-Clark Professional at the National Safety Council (NSC) Congress in November 2006, 85 percent of the safety professionals responding had observed people in their organizations failing to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when they should have been. Nearly half said this had happened on numerous occasions, 66 percent of safety professionals said PPE compliance was an issue within their organizations, and a whopping 40 percent described PPE compliance within their organization as a “major concern” they were attempting to correct.

For machinists, wearing and using PPE — properly — is more than simply a good idea; it is an OSHA requirement. The main reason for noncompliance: a feeling of invulnerability. Nearly one-third of respondents selected, “An accident won’t happen to me,” from a list of choices.

According to Kimberly-Clark, the top three workplace issues: insufficient management support and/or resources for health and safety functions; worker compliance with safety protocols; and under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses (See below.).

Yet with increasing incidence in work-related disorders, strains and sprains, even if you work in an office cubicle, you had better watch out.

Office workers glued to computer screens are at greater risk of deadly blood clots forming in their legs than long-distance air travelers, according to a New Zealand study earlier this month. The new study found that 34 percent of patients admitted to hospitals with blood clots had been seated at work for long periods — 12-14 hours a day.

Accidents and risk do happen and exist in the office: leaning too far back in a chair; an open drawer or upended carpet on which to trip; slippery surfaces and sitting and staring at a computer screen all day. And when they do, they often stay.

Work Can Be a Chronic Pain
For instance, workers in the U.S. are much more likely to struggle into work when they are ill than a decade ago, with many dragging themselves into the office even when they are in chronic pain (defined as pain that lasts for at least six months).

A survey by the National Pain Foundation (NPF) has found that persistent pain has risen dramatically, up almost 40 percent, among full-time U.S. workers in the past 10 years. The NPF poll of more than 1,000 workers found the prevalence of chronic pain was now much more common in the workplace (26 percent) than it was in 1996 (19 percent).

Even more, almost nine out of 10 employees with chronic pain typically went to work rather than staying at home, the survey found. The vast majority — 95 percent — said their pain had to be either moderately or very severe before they stayed home from work.

Forty-six percent of those employees with chronic pain said their pain often or sometimes affects their ability to perform their job.

What Can You Do to Reduce Injuries?
Even if you listen — really listen — to what employees are saying about their working conditions, employees may not admit, even to themselves, that they are in pain.

Hard-working, highly motivated employees want to keep working and making money, benefiting both the employee and the company. As IndustryWeek noted last year:

Like baseball players of old, they don’t complain about “minor” aches and pains. They suck it up and keep going.

So what can you do when your good workers don’t complain?

Foremost, do not take lack of complaints to mean lack of hidden problems. Peter Scala, a senior loss-control engineer with New York City-based E.G. Bowman, writes:

Probe beneath the surface: Do employees have to shout to make one another heard? Are they coughing frequently? Is there fine dust in the air? Are there contaminants settling on equipment? Observe the worker’s station. Is he or she struggling to hold the piece? Is he or she showing any signs of discomfort such as squinting or wringing hands?

Talk to employees to see how they feel. Are they taking aspirin and ibuprofen to kill the nagging minor pains?

Further investigation and evaluation from a professional loss-control consultant, ergonomic expert and/or certified industrial hygienist can observe workers in their work areas and spot potential problems. Someone promising confidentiality, from outside the company, is more likely to elicit candid comments because good workers don’t want their boss to think they’re complainers.

Investigation usually uncovers at least one shortcoming that probably will result in worker injuries over the long term, at which point, attack the problem by redesigning the workplace to eliminate hazards, or provide workers with the proper tools in the form of PPE (e.g., respirators, hearing protection) and ergonomic equipment (e.g., adjustable chairs and worktables, ergonomic keyboards).

Finally, employees should be encouraged to report physical problems. Early intervention can usually prevent progression of minor concerns into major injuries.

Today’s investment — of effort, diligence and, yes, money — into improving health and safety can produce major savings in the future.

Resources

When Employees Don’t Complain
by Peter Scala
IndustryWeek, June 7, 2006

Goodbye: The Final Curtain Comes Down
by Jordan Barab
Confined Space, Jan. 24, 2007

85%t of Safety Professionals Surveyed at NSC Congress Report Observing Personal Protective Equipment Noncompliance in the Workplace
International Facility Management Association, March 2007

Office Workers Putting Their Lives at Risk
Associated Content, March 13, 2007

School bans ‘unsafe’ knotted ties
BBC News, March 19, 2007