Why? How often? And to whom do workplace accidents occur?
These are good workplace safety questions. So how often do accidents occur in the workplace? A lot more often than people think. Every year over 3 million workers are injured on the job, and there are about 5,000 deaths each year in the workplace.
Who is injured most often at work?
It is younger workers, workers who are between the ages of 15 and 25. These workers are twice as likely to be injured at work. Almost 1 million end up in the emergency room. Each year an average of 600 dies from fatal work injuries.
Why are younger workers injured at work more often than older workers?
Well, many younger workers lack experience or proper training. Some may be less likely to speak up and ask questions. Younger people tend to take more risk and tend to do jobs that are more dangerous.
When it comes to accidents in the workplace, which ones are most common?
Slips, trips and falls. These are the most common types of workplace accidents. It is estimated that there are 25,000 slip, trips and falls each day at work. They count for 25% of all workplace injuries and 15% of fatalities. Be careful not to underestimate the seriousness of slip, trips and falls. For instance, if a person falls on their head from only three feet high, it will cause injuries similar to running as fast as you can into a brick wall.
When analyzing the causes of workplace accidents, what are the most common?
There are five of them.
- Laziness
- Being distracted or tired
- Alcohol and drug use
- Overconfidence
- Ignoring safety procedures and rules
Laziness – this is when a worker tries to take a shortcut in doing a certain task. When working with dangerous tools or machines taking a shortcut exposes a person to unnecessary risk and potential danger.
Being distracted or tired is another very common cause of accidents in the workplace. You need to be a hundred percent focused on your task and your surroundings. Not paying attention for a fraction of a second can lead to a serious accident.
Another common cause of accidents is alcohol and drug use. To be safe at work you need a hundred percent of your capabilities. Drugs or alcohol will slow a worker’s reaction time and make him or her more careless or clumsy.
Overconfidence can also be a cause of accidents at work, especially with younger workers. This is when a worker feels they’re invincible or they are so good at their job that nothing bad could happen to them.
The last cause of accidents in the workplace is ignoring safety procedures or rules. Safety rules and procedures are created to prevent accidents. Ignoring them will eventually lead to someone getting hurt and possibly killed.
When you look closely at the common causes of workplace accidents, what do you think links them all together? What links them together is a lack of awareness and focus on the job site. More often than not, the person involved, were not thinking of safety or keeping it as their first priority.
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