GENERAL SAFETY REPEATERS

How many times have you been hurt at work, or even at home for that matter? How about the person next to you doing the same job? Are you hurt more often than your co-workers? If so, why?

Some individuals might say they are "accident prone". But it is not that simple. Your tendency to have accidents is nothing more than the outcome of more specific problems. As an example, are you frequently tripping over items on the floor? Is that a sign of you being "accident prone" or of poor housekeeping? I say it is poor housekeeping.

We all have physical limitations. It is important these are not exceeded. Do you know your limitations? Remember, they change with age. As an example, at age 40 you need much more light to see than you did when you were 20. You may have been able to work without additional lighting several years ago, but not now. You need to adapt.

Problems are not always physical. Stresses of various types have been shown to cause an increase in illness and injury. The top five stressors are rather dramatic. They are: (1) Death of a spouse; (2) divorce; (3) marital separation; (4) sudden death of a family member and (5) a jail term. While these deal with activities away from work, work itself can introduce new stresses that could increase the likelihood of injury. Examples would include a change in supervisor, work conditions, or work hours.

So there are no stresses in your life? Let's ask more questions. How well do you like your job? Some studies have suggested a link between injury and job satisfaction. The less you like your job or the people you work with, the more likely an injury will occur.

Do you understand your job or the instructions given? If not, this could be the problem. Do you really listen to instructions? Do you use the appropriate personal protective equipment consistently?

As you can see, there may be a number of reasons why you or your co-worker are "accident prone". It is not inevitable. With conscious effort, behavior can be changed. Think about the reasons and make the changes necessary to end the injury cycle. There is no acceptable reason for you to be a victim time after time.