Workplace Safety Facts

It is your workplace where you spend a major part of your day. Your workplace is like your second home. This makes it important for any workplace to cater to the needs of its employees. It is important for the workplace to make its employees feel safe and comfortable working there. Apart from the work culture, company policies and ergonomic considerations, workplace safety is the determinant of the happiness of employees. After all happy and satisfied employees are productive employees! When it is about ensuring employee-safety, safety issues in the workplace come into picture.

Why is workplace safety so important?

A safe situation is one where the risks of injuries or damage to property are low. Safety is generally meant to impact the risk of death or injury. Different employees do different types of work in an organization. Some types of work may involve great risks. There are some professions characterized as being hazardous. Organizations need to ensure safety of their workers by dealing with all the safety issues raised by their machinery.

Workplace safety is a responsibility of the management. It includes the formation and execution of safety programs and policies. Insurance is often seen as something that can restitute the loss caused to the employee while working. The company can issue policies for the employees to help them feel financially secure.

Workers in engineering and chemical industries need to be protected from the dangers that their professions carry. Those working with fire or electricity are always faced with serious threats to their life and property. Those serving in defense services are at a constant risk of losing their life. Even the war journalists have to often confront dangerous situations. To safeguard the people in such risk-bearing professions, their organizations should employ safety procedures and practices and provide the employees with proper training of dealing with the accidents at work. A measurement of risk and risk management through proper safety inspections is vital for the safe functioning of an organization.

Workplace Safety Facts

• According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, the year 1994 witnessed the maximum number of workplace fatalities and 2002 witnessed the least number of them. This study took into account the period between the years 1992 to 2006.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics has noted that people engaged in cutting timber, flying airplanes, working with metals, roofing and extractive occupations have to face fatal risks at work. Truck drivers and construction workers have to endanger their lives as a part of their occupation. According to the information from the year 2000, timber cutters met with 122.1 fatalities per 100,000 employees, which was the highest count, while truck drivers met with 27.6 fatalities per 100,000 employees. The fatalities observed in other professions ranged between these two values.
• Research reveals that work accidents cost billions per year for companies. The number of deaths and injured at work is quite high.
• Very little is known about the workplace safety of Americans before the late nineteenth century. American railroads of the nineteenth century and mining activities proved dangerous for the workers. With the passage of time, employers began to realize the need for their employees’ safety. They came up with schemes that dealt with workplace safety.

Ultimately, workplace safety is about considering people, the people who work with you. The most important assets of an organization are its employees. Their safety and well-being is of utmost importance. We must always remember that human lives are priceless!