Review of The Facts About Workplace Hazards in Australia

Facts About Workplace Hazards

How do you make sure your workplace and your entire business organisation are safe and secure from hazards that may threaten or endanger your employees? As a business operator, it is your responsibility to create and maintain a healthy and safe working environment for your employees. In Australia, the following are the most common injuries and/or adverse effects on employees brought about by workplace hazards

Muscular Stress Brought About While Handling Or Lifting Heavy Objects

Statistics reveal muscular stress while lifting or handling heavy objects is the most regular workplace injury suffered from by most Australian workers/employees working in Australia. This type of injury can be avoided if the company provides adequate staff training and supervision.

Trips And Falls

The major causes of trips and falls, as reported by employees, are wet floors and cluttered floor spaces. To prevent or at least minimise injuries caused by trips and falls, install visible and brightly coloured signages that warn of wet floors and spills. Exposed cables and cords or other objects that cause obstacle should also be cleared or covered.

Strain and fatigue

Usually caused by overwork, or employees not taking their breaks because they won’t or can’t. It is of utmost importance to encourage, even require, your staff to take regular breaks and avoid overexertion at work.

Injury From Being Hit By Falling Objects

Although accounting for only 5% of serious workplace-related injuries, falling objects are still the second most common cause of fatalities in the workplace. To avoid such accidents, make sure all stationery, stock, and archives are properly arranged and kept in sturdy locations within the workplace. Avoid overpacking your storage areas and shelves.

Machinery And Equipment Entanglement

Workplaces using heavy machinery and equipment should work to prevent and prepare for machine entanglement accidents. Unbound hair, jewelry, loose clothing, and finger(s) could get caught in machines and equipment resulting in a range of injuries including abrasions, cuts, amputations, or even death. To minimise, if not prevent, the harm caused by machinery and equipment entanglement, require your workers to wear protective clothing, such as protective gloves and vests, all the time.

Workplace Assault, Violence, And Bullying

Aggression in the workplace, including assault, bullying, and other similar incidents, may escalate and result in severely harmful effects causing serious physical injuries and/or psychological trauma on your employees. It is important that your organisation has a sound and effective conflict resolution method in place, to appropriately respond to these incidents, if not altogether avoiding and terminating these kinds of work-related threats.

Psychological Stress

One of the most commonly overlooked workplace-related injuries—simply because it is not readily and outwardly evident—psychological stress caused by work-related factors can be very real in your organisation. The work-related stress, leading to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues should always be a part of your watch-out-for plan in designing a method to prevent any kind of workplace-related injuries. Armed with proper knowledge on the different workplace-related injuries and dangers, you, as business operator, can now work to make sure these can be prevented. To do this, you need to:

• Identify what causes harm
• Check and assess risks
• Control or terminate risks
• Evaluate control measures