We recently spoke with Birmingham clinician, Morgan Jackson, PT, DPT, about preventing workplace injuries. She shared great tips on how employees and employers can work together to prevent injuries and build a workplace where employees thrive.
Employees:
- Know your policies: Many workplaces have injury prevention plans in place. Reach out to the HR team or safety manager at your company to see if they have a program. The tips they provide can be as simple as proper posture, setting up your chair properly and the correct placement of your monitor and keyboard.
- Take breaks: Take micro break every 20 minutes to stand up and stretch or move a bit. Then, most importantly, follow their guidelines and if you start to feel pain such as a sore back, wrist or shoulder ask them to come back for a tune-up.
- Escalate when appropriate: If pain persists more than 2-3 weeks, it may be time to see someone before it gets worse.
Employers:
- Have a policy and follow up: The most important thing the employer can do is have an injury prevention plan in place that can be tailored to each employee. But as important is the follow up and reinforcement. Have a plan that starts on day one, but continues to educate and remind employees.
- Set up employee work stations: If in an office environment, help employees set up their work area in the proper way, including desk, chair, monitor, keyboard and mouse and explaining proper sitting posture to the employee.
- Don’t just tell the what, explain the why: Explain what things SHOULD feel like, but more importantly, explain why it’s important and what can happen if they don’t take direction properly.
In the event you are suffering from a workplace injury, learn some tips on how to manage the pain.
