In 2023, workplace injuries cost Americans approximately $176.5 billion. As reported by the National Safety Council, this number is a low estimate based on data from specific workers' compensation insurance sources. The true costs are actually much higher. Individuals, their families and associates, employers, and the nation as a whole lose way too much financially from preventable workplace injuries.
Read on to learn about the hidden costs and prevention methods that every executive can implement today to reduce their losses and the burden on others...
Why Do Workplace Injuries Happen?
Workplace injuries occur for a wide range of reasons. In general, many employers fail to provide adequate safety training or monitor worker activities enough to observe and address negligent and unsafe behaviors and actions. Additionally, some industries like construction, healthcare, law enforcement and transportation have a higher number of incidents overall because of a greater potential risk. As part of their normal job responsibilities, workers in these industries use specific dangerous tools or experience exposure to unhealthy people or environments.
Some employees purposely act dangerously or negligently and then manipulate their managers into giving them extra chances to improve. Some employers simply don't care about safety and allow unsafe conditions, especially if they're in a high-turnover industry or predominantly hire workers who are in the country illegally. In these cases, employers might use the threat of employment termination, deportation, and other manipulation tactics to convince workers to under-report incidents.
How Do Incidents Impact Employers?
Everyone, top-down from executives to nighttime janitors, pays when injury incidents occur in a workplace. Safety issues disrupt productivity, which can result in missed deadlines, angry customers, and lost revenues. If enough safety incidents take place, a business can suffer reputational damage and lose customers. Executives might have to deal with higher insurance premiums, state and federal penalties, safety certification or business license suspension, or legal costs from lawsuits.
Executives might also suddenly face increased employee recruiting and hiring costs because of safety-related employee retention problems. Also, employees who decide to continue with their employment, but experience extremely low morale might become so anxious, fearful, and distracted that they cause additional productivity issues and accidental injury incidents. If the problems become public, a company might find it difficult to hire the best workers as well.
How Can Executives Protect Their Businesses?
Companies that have strong histories of workplace safety enjoy many benefits. These businesses receive high rankings in safety reports, which can make an employer more appealing to new customers. They often receive insurance premium discounts. Happy workers who know that their bosses care about their safety are less likely to quit and more likely to engage in and promote positive preventative actions that keep work zones safe. The best industry-specific talent chooses businesses with high safety histories first for obvious reasons.
Employers have a duty of care to provide a safe working environment and every state, except Texas, require companies to maintain Worker’s Compensation insurance. Executives can improve safety the most by using diverse strategies and methods. They should offer safety training programs, monitor worker activities and address problems, create safety procedures and plans, and accept and provide safety-related feedback. For example, all executives should guarantee that employees receive extensive training about staying safe in specific work environments and around certain types of equipment that goes beyond first aid and industry or OSHA requirements. They should create and implement everyday procedures that increase safety and post detailed, specific safety reminders in work zones.
Executives and subordinates in management positions also need to regularly remind employees to report dangerous or hazardous working conditions. Lastly, they should use motivational verbal recognition and physical rewards to acknowledge employees who do the most to keep their environments and other workers safe.
