You don’t need us to tell you that happy colleagues are essential for workplace productivity. That’s logic, right? Hence why you do what you can to make your company a pleasant place to work. You introduce early finish Fridays, or casual clothes days to get your point across.
And, of course, colleague happiness doesn’t stop there. Feeling healthy and safe in the workplace is also essential for productivity. And, given that productivity can help your business towards success, there’s already every chance you’ve taken steps here. You probably keep walkways clear and check your fire alarm batteries often. But, something’s not right. Despite your efforts, your staff are forever going sick with bad backs.
Though this issue often goes under the radar compared to other injuries, 80% of Americans experience lower back pain at some stage. In fact, the Global Burden of Disease ruled this as the leading cause of disability worldwide. And, more often than not, pain like this comes as a result of our working lives. But, if you’re losing a lot of colleagues to this it could soon leave you out of pocket. Not only could you face lawsuits, but you’ll also need to pay for staff who aren’t in the office. It’s a catch 22, and one you can avoid by considering the following causes.
Cheap chairs
Your colleagues have to sit down for the most of their days. As such, the chair’s they use have a massive standing on their health. Namely, chairs which don’t offer adequate support can lead to poor posture and back problems. If this is an issue which knots the spine of your business, consider your chairs. Are the backs supportive? Is there a chance to change chair height to suit needs? If the answer is no to either, splash out on chairs which support good posture. It might cost from the outset, but this could save you on lost workers in the long run.
The wrong kind of movement?
Repetitive movement is also a leading cause of back pain. Back injuries often happen in workplaces where staff bend over or turn to the side a lot. If your employees have to lift boxes, this could be the cause of your troubles. If so, you could reduce injury with movement assessments. Movement sensors like those offered by ViSafe allow you to track movement and judge necessary changes. It may be that you decide to increase the number of breaks offered. Or, you may improve procedures so staff no longer have to bend as often. Either way, you could kiss goodbye to back pain.
Insufficient training
Sometimes, regular back pain is a sign of nothing more than insufficient training. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to train staff on issues such as proper lifting. Failure to do so is sure to result in increased back strain, and thus higher risk of injury. So, if nothing else applies, consider whether you just need to spend more time on health and safety training.
