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Off-The-Job Injuries Outpace Gains in Workplace Safety
When you think about the 12 miners who died in West
Virginia in January, it’s hard to believe that the nations’
workforce is safer today than ever before. If fact, workers today
are safer on the job than they are in their own homes.
According to the National Safety Council (NSC), recent gains in
lowering workplace death rates — down 17 percent since 1992 — have
been undone by the rate of fatalities occurring off the job, up 14
percent in that same period.
While corporate America has made dramatic gains in workplace safety,
businesses are losing money on accidents unrelated to the workplace.
According to NSC statistics presented at the nation’s first Off the
Job Safety Symposium in Orlando in January, twice as many workers —
or 6.8 million — were seriously injured while off the job than were
injured while working in 2004. And of the 49,000 injury-related
deaths involving workers, roughly 90 percent occurred while
employees were off the job.
To reduce the number of injuries away from work, the National Safety
Council has joined the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control to improve the safety and health of the American public
outside of the workplace. Both organizations formalized their
commitment to work together by signing a memorandum of understanding
at the country’s first-ever Off-The-Job Safety Symposium, organized
by the National Safety Council.
“A startling trend is unfolding as more than half of all
unintentional injury deaths occur in our nation’s homes and
communities,” said NSC President and CEO Alan C. McMillan. As a
result, the NSC is moving to aggressively educate consumers and
businesses alike about this emerging safety and health concern with
an emphasis on preventing injuries in residential, recreational,
municipal, educational and community settings.
“The business costs of off-the-job accidents is staggering when you
take into account lost wages and productivity, medical and
disability payments, and training for new employees,” said McMillan.
In 2004, the cost of employee injuries — both on and off the job —
was more than $330 billion. Nearly 60 percent — or $200 billion —
was for injuries to employees who were off the job.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more is
spent by private health insurance on medical care associated with
trauma and poisoning for people of working age than for any other
health condition, including cancer, heart conditions, mental
disorders or upper respiratory conditions and asthma. In addition,
off-the-job injuries accounted for employers losing 165 million days
of production time, compared with 80 million lost work days, as a
result of workplace injuries.
Increasingly, businesses are recognizing the value of keeping their
employees safe at all times, both on and off the job. In a recent
NSC survey of 1,300 companies of varying sizes, businesses said
off-the-job safety training works. Of those who have implemented
off-the-job programs, 58 percent reported reductions in injuries
occurring outside of work.
Gary Kopps, manager of Occupational Safety Worldwide for John Deere
and Co., noted that corporate-sponsored safety initiatives are a
win-win for both businesses and their employees.
“Employees value that you take time to remind them about safety, and
they pay you back many times over through loyalty, increased
productivity and quality, and reduced absenteeism,” said Kopps, who
presented the John Deere business case for offthe-job safety at the
Off-the-Job Symposium.
“We cannot wait until a crisis forces us to commit to working
together to create safer homes and communities,” said McMillan. “By
collaborating with CDC, we hope to accelerate our efforts to prevent
injuries not only where we work but also where we live.”
It’s been said that the goal of safety management was to ensure that
all workers return home at the end of the day. Perhaps, it should
include that they come back to work tomorrow.
Here’s hoping they do. Thanks and good luck.
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