A common cause for New York workers compensation insurance claims can be overexertion. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published 2017-2018 overexertion statistics. They found that 295,000 in 2017 and 282,000 overexertion injuries in 2018 caused days off from work, and naturally, WC claims. These take up 31% of the non-fatal; work injuries that cause work days lost. This could result from a wide range of activities, such as lifting, carrying, throwing, pushing, or pulling. Although it is easy to overexert muscles, there are a few simple tips you could give your employees to help prevent such injuries. These near 600,000 days lost are all preventable by doing simple daily routines differently. Here are a few of these examples.
Start Easy
Many people have a tendency try to do too much when first starting a project. The result is that they end up injuring themselves, which means their work has to be put on hold until they heal.
Pace Yourself
Some make it a point to work as fast as possible. Unfortunately, they do not seem to realize that they could easily injure themselves while working at such a quick pace.
Know Your Limits
Regardless of the activity that a person is doing, it is always a good thing to know when to ask for help. Many people injure themselves by overdoing an activity, such as lifting a box that is clearly too large for one individual.
Set Obtainable Goals
Many times a person sets goals that he or she has no hope of actually reaching. By being reasonable with their workload, employees reduce the risk of injuries while still earning a sense of accomplishment.
Overexertion could happen regardless of how physically fit a worker is. This is why it is important to train your employees in the proper way to perform their job functions. Otherwise, you may be facing a New York workers compensation insurance claim and staff shortages.