10 Surprising Health Benefits of Hatha Yoga Practice: Rejuvenate Your Mind and Body Today
Have you heard about the mystical Chinese art of Qigong? If you have, I still believe that Qigong may remain something of a mystery to
Do you know what month October 2022 is?
It is Australia’s National Safe Work Month!
Regardless of the nature of our work, we will all face the risk for workplace injury.
In some cases of workplace accidents, those injuries become recurrent and chronic in nature, and it can delay or even prevent a timely recovery and return to work.
For this month, we can take this moment to reflect on workplace safety. While we may all have different workplaces and injury risks, we can employ common methods to improve our workplace safety.
Right, before we go to our top tips on workplace safety, we should first identify what makes our workplace unsafe.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were 563,600 work-related injuries between 2017 to 2018.
Looking at those numbers, we cannot help but wonder: How do injuries occur at work?
Let us take an electrician’s work as an example.
If we look how an electrician works, we can identify a few factors of risk to workplace safety:
From there, we can infer that the electrician (like most Tradies) often overwork their bodies with heavy loads repeatedly…and sometimes without proper times to rest or have proper nutrition.
With such working conditions, is it not surprising that workplace injuries can occur?
And as such, is this not a clearer sign on the importance of workplace safety for them?
While the examples in the previous section are more applicable to work conditions for Tradies, we can classify those factors into broader categories to apply to all forms of work in general.
So let us consider how those factors increase the likelihood of workplace injury due to:
Do any of those factors apply for your workplace now?
Our bodies are not indestructible machines. For workplace safety to take place, we must learn how to protect ourselves from workplace injuries.
Now we need to look at who and what is responsible for workplace safety.
A research paper in 2011 estimated that between 2009-2010, 636,000 Australians suffered some form of work-related injury.
In the article, the author defined the factors associated with workplace injuries in two broad categories: Individual and Social factors.
“Individual Factors” consists of:
Clearly, we can see that there are many considerations for workplace safety.
Based on the factors above, let us look at the top tips you have been waiting for on how we can implement workplace safety for all of us!
As mentioned before, we want to be able to recommend workplace safety tips for all of us.
Though the nature of our work is different and diverse, we can still share many useful workplace safety tips together.
So here are our Top Tips for Workplace Safety:
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that strains, sprains and chronic overuse injuries make up the most work-related injuries.
While this is a problem most Tradies can attest to, these injuries also apply to non-Tradies too in the form of wrist and shoulder repetitive-strain-injuries (RSIs)!
It is impossible to give specific workplace safety advice to fit all occupations but there are several common tips applicable to all.
A great way to minimise overuse injuries and RSI is to plan regular mini-breaks throughout the day, such as going to the pantry, going to the bathroom or walking to your colleague’s desk instead of calling them!
Another trick to protect our body from repetitive load is by alternating between different tasks that require different postures (such as sitting or standing) throughout the day.
Breaking up the day and changing our postures is great at preventing injuries while maintaining productivity levels!
What is a “Safe Environment”?
What is considered “safe” for a Tradie’s workplace is certainly not the same for non-Tradies!
Nonetheless, there are still general guidelines to ensure workplace safety regardless of the environment.
A big problem in workplace safety is falling, so if we can ensure that our workspace has:
– Clutter-free floors;
– Well-lit work areas;
– No loose wiring; and
– Non-slippery and even surfaces,
It would significantly minimise the risk of falls.
We also want to ensure that we work with good ergonomics.
Whether it is working at a desk of appropriate height for carpentry or computer work or using the right equipment for the task, it can help protect our bodies from unnecessary injuries.
Check out Brendan’s blog on setting up your workstation here.
As the saying goes ‘Prevention is better than Cure’: That is certainly true in preventing workplace injuries!
So, is your workplace safe? How about taking a break to look around first?
It’s Workplace Safety Quiz Time!
You have a few dozen boxes of documents (or supplies) to move. Would you:
a) Carry them all by yourself one by one; or
b) Load them onto a trolley to push to where they are needed; or
c) Ask a coworker to help?
Hopefully we all chose options b) and c)!
What if option a) was chosen?
Manually lifting and carrying so many boxes on your own can potentially result in a lower back injury.
Sometimes workers may hesitate asking their workplace for support.
However, not only are injured workers unable to work (and in pain!), the lost work time and Workers Compensation actually costs the company more in the long run!
Thus, if you are facing such situations, speaking out on workplace safety can potentially keep you safe and healthy and save your company precious time, productivity and money!
Ideally, it is a worker’s right to a safe workplace with proper tools and manpower support.
If a workplace neglects occupational health and safety or imposes unrealistically high workloads on workers, it puts workers at risk of workplace injury.
However, things may not be that simple: One potential problem is workplace bullying.
A study in 2016 highlighted that workplace bullying is a major issue even in countries like Australia.
All of us can experience workplace bullying from a work culture that looks down on ‘crybabies’ to actual threats of dismissal for speaking out.
Workplace bullying that prevents workers from speaking out on their safety risks creates a major barrier for workers to have proper workplace safety protocols to protect them.
Fortunately, the Fair Works Act 2009 exists to address workplace bullying in Australia.
Knowing your rights to workplace safety is important in protecting yourself.
Workplace injuries cost Australia billions of dollars every year.
Moreover, a 14-year study in Victoria noted that recurrent injuries and diseases account for 50% of all workplace injuries.
While we can design the safest workplaces, accidents and injuries can still occur.
Pain and injury can cause affected body parts to compensate and move differently, adding strain to other body parts.
Over time this further strains those body parts, potentially resulting in other overuse injuries or strains that affects their ability to work more.
For some workers, they are unable to continue doing their jobs due to their injuries.
The good news is that taking time to get treatment from a physiotherapist can significantly reduce the chances of severe work-stopping injury.
A physiotherapist can give you exercises as well as help you identify strategies to prevent further injury, allowing you to continue working at your 100% longer!
Kumar, A. (2011). Individual and social factors associated with workplace injuries. International Journal of Human Sciences, 8(2).
O’Rourke, A., & Antioch, S. K. (2016). Workplace bullying laws in Australia: Placebo or panacea?. Common Law World Review, 45(1), 3-26.
Ruseckaite, R., & Collie, A. (2013). The incidence and impact of recurrent workplace injury and disease: a cohort study of WorkSafe Victoria, Australia compensation claims. BMJ open, 3(3), e002396.
Have you heard about the mystical Chinese art of Qigong? If you have, I still believe that Qigong may remain something of a mystery to
In the same way that doctors prescribe drugs as medicine, physiotherapists, exercise physiologists and other exercise professionals prescribe exercise as medicine to help treat, manage,
If you’ve ever rolled an ankle or tweaked a muscle, you’ve probably been told to “RICE it” — Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. This has been