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Other departments within an organization will likely focus on related areas of employee safety and injury prevention. Health Promotion activities are a natural partner to many other HR, employee motivation, and safety programs.

Body mechanics, ergonomics, and safe working practices are three areas which may  be coordinated together.

• Soft Tissue Sprains and Strains –  This injury category continues to remain the number one financial loss for workers’ compensation. A lot of health insurance dollars are also spent on back pain, other sprains, and strains. Health Promotion and safety efforts can focus on –

• Warm up stretches before beginning work or periodic stretching during work. These can do much to prevent soft tissue injury. Give training to work groups so they might begin a stretching program. These groups can then continue on their own.

• The wellness committee might consider contracting a fitness expert to come in and conduct stretching “refreshers” for worker groups throughout the year.

• Offer body mechanics training each year or more frequently when possible. These training sessions should focus on work related tasks and safety, as well as feature a segment on home tasks and body safety.

• Partner with your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier to assist in providing body mechanics training, job safety analysis, and other preventive services which could help staff members work safer, smarter, and avoid injury.

• Implement a safety concerns suggestion box. Be certain to encourage workers to report safety and/or injury concerns. Be certain to help management to establish policy to recognize and reward workers who offer safety suggestions, provide tips, and solution ideas.

• A periodic presentation featuring a local medical provider addressing such topics as safe body mechanics, recovering from a back injury, appropriate spine care, etc.

• Partner with management and supervisor teams to recognize and reward work groups who are successful with safety and injury prevention.

• The ergonomics of an employees’ workstation/work place design is important and applicable to every group.

• Offer ergonomic training opportunities to interested workers volunteers. These individuals can then assist other workers to assess their work areas for safety, comfort, and injury prevention.

• It is often more effective to have an observer evaluate employees for helpful and friendly comfort suggestions rather than it’s for person to assess themselves.

• One suggestion is to have staff members remind one another about correct posture, to take breaks, to stop and do quick mini stretches, etc.

• Take before and after photos of work areas as changes are made. This will help to demonstrate how small adjustment changes can often make big comfort changes.

• Partner with the business’s workers’ compensation carrier to help create ergonomic policies and practices and to provide employee training.