- Date: 29 June 2023
- Category: Small Business Guidance
While there will always be injuries in then workplace, the job of employers is to ensure that those risks are minimal. But this doesn’t always happen. Workplace injury and sicknesses can happen when people are negligent and careless. But being workplace hygiene and safety experts, Direct365 have put together this list of how best to stop or reduce the most common workplace injuries. Coinciding with Injury Awareness Week 2023, this list should help employers across the country better manage their workplace health and safety.
- Most common workplace injuries:
- Slips and trips
- Falls from height
- Office equipment injuries
- Cuts and bruises
- Noise pollution
How Best to Reduce Risk
Slips and Trips
Slips and trips are some of the most common injuries because they are often so difficult to manage. They can be caused by something as simple as a spilt drink on the floor or leaving some boxes on a walkway.
The best way to reduce the risk of slips and trips is to ensure everyone is educated about using wet floor signs after spillages and cleaning, communicating about the use of proper storage for boxes/documents and ensuring that cables and computer equipment is safely positioned away from walkways.
Falls from Height
This level of risk varied depending on the setting and the job role. These accidents happen more so in construction and manual jobs that involve building high up or maintenance at a height (window cleaner/roofer, for example). But there could also be risk in office environments if people are climbing on desks/chairs or even ladders to reach high up places.
The best thing to do is to understand those risks and ensure safety is always at the forefront of every day. Those working from height regularly could be given safety harnesses. Things like hardhats and high visibility outfits will help if a fall happens. Likewise, checking the weather before each day can alert you to whether working at height is too much of a risk that day.
Repetitive Strain
This is a common injury among workplaces and can often be seen in office environments with employees working at desks.
Working in the same position day in, day out can cause these types of injury. While in many jobs this is difficult to avoid, giving people the right equipment, at the right height for their use, and offering additional physical support will help mitigate these issues. Ensure you’re communicating these things to employees and once a year you should perform a workplace assessment to make sure everyone’s comfortable working from their set-up.
Cuts and Bruises
Another injury that is based on prevention and can rarely be seen beforehand. The main objective here should be to ensure that all equipment is safe to use and to provide an accident book so to find any possible trends and accident-heavy areas of the business.
Noise Pollution
Noise pollution usually happens in manual jobs or jobs in the entertainment industries, but repetitive and loud noises can be a problem in any environment. In roles that regularly involve noise, ensuring noise cancelling ear protection is provided, and deciding the minimal number of staff that need to be subject to that level of noise.
There’s a lot to be uncertain of when dealing with health and safety and preventing a workplace injury. That’s why small and medium sized businesses come to Direct365. Our safety, waste and facilities services can take the pain out of arduous compliance tasks. Direct365’s services ae enjoyed by tens of thousands of small businesses every year, and we can help you too.
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