Workplace Safety Awareness- 29 Jul

Quest recently published an article reminding everyone to be cautious in the workplace and ensure that safety measures are a priority in your workplace. We wanted to echo some of their statements and share some workplace safety insights with you.

Workplace Injuries

The National Safety Council (NSC) has estimated that a worker is injured every 7 seconds. The latest data from Injury Facts (an NSC report) showed that 4.5 million work-related medically consulted injuries occurred in 2017—costing employers $161.5 billion.

Those documented injuries listed above included injuries that were serious enough to contact a healthcare professional. The costs from the report were measured from healthcare expenses, damage to property or vehicles, lost productivity and pay, as well as administrative and financial burdens that were caused to the employer.

The NSC has also found that the top workplace injuries that cause an employee to miss work include overexertion, contact with objects and equipment, slips, trips and falls— all injuries that could have largely been prevented.

Drug Use

Drug testing, along with strongly-enforced safety protocols, is a great way to help establish a safe work environment.

Drug use has been shown to cause increased impairment and increased likelihood of workplace injury to both the drug user as well as co-workers and workplace equipment.

Drug overdose also ranks as the leading cause of unintentional death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 67,367 people died from drug overdoses in the United States in 2018.

Administering pre-employment drug testing as well as routine random drug tests have been shown to significantly decrease drug use within the workplace and increase overall workplace safety.

Working From Home

Recent Gallup data from the end of April 2020 showed that 63% of U.S. employees said they had worked from home in the past seven days because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With many employees still working from home it is also important to take precautions with your own physical, emotional, and mental health. With home now being a workplace environment, it’s important to take precautions and be careful with intake of alcohol and other substances.

In this new environment, worry and anxiety have shown to cause an increase in substance abuse and depression. It’s important to continue to get outside, exercise, eat healthy, and communicate with friends and family to ensure that you are staying safe and healthy within your new workplace environment.