Staying healthy and safe at work is important. No matter what your job, it is important to reduce your risks of injury and illness at work.
In honor of June being National Safety Month, we asked APR’s safety experts, Bernadette Simmons and Quan Smith for their best workplace safety tips. Here are their top five:
- Understand the risks. Once you know the particular hazards of your job or workplace, you can take steps to reduce your risk of work-related injury or illness.
- Reduce workplace stress. Common causes include long hours, heavy workload, job insecurity and conflicts with coworkers or bosses. Stress can lead to depression, sleeping difficulties and problems with concentration.
- Take regular breaks. Staying fresh and alert will help you avoid injury or burnout. Schedule the most difficult tasks of each day for times when your concentration is best, such as first thing in the morning.
- Avoid stooping or twisting. Use ergonomically designed furniture and equipment, and rearrange your work area so that everything you need is within easy reach.
- Protect your back. If you do need to pick up and carry heavy loads, keep the load close to your body and lift with your thigh muscles.
Another resource to use for workplace safety tips: http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/recognizing-hidden-dangers-25-steps-to-a-safer-office-2
And just because the following rule not only applies to the zombie apocalypse, but to work safety as well:
Zombieland Survival Guide Rule # 18: Limber Up – When fighting a zombie or running from zombies it’s not a great time to be pulling a muscle or throwing your back out. So limbering up is a must. Stretch it out a little…it may save your life.