Top 10 ways to keep your aging workforce safe and reduce workplace injuries

With many employees continuing to work well past their expected retirement age, there is a growing concern for the safety of this population while on the job. Considering and addressing the challenges associated with aging workers can help to ensure safety in the workplace:

1. Encourage all employees to participate in an exercise program to potentially reduce the risk of experiencing an injury on the job.
2. Rotate work assignments so aging employees have less exposure to repetitive motion risks. Rotating routines periodically can also improve employee morale by avoiding boredom.
3. If possible, eliminate heavy lifts, long reaches, and elevated work from ladders.
4. Maintain your facility to help ensure a safe work environment. Especially for aging employees, poorly guarded machinery or other office equipment with makeshift repairs can result in injuries.
5. A job safety analysis and an ergonomic assessment can be used to identify possible improvements to a work environment. These tools can identify potential hazards and determine the safest way to perform a job.
6. Falls alone are responsible for more than one-third of all injuries incurred by workers 65 and older. Because of this, prioritizing slip and fall prevention at the workplace is very important. Installing skid-resistant material for flooring and stairs is a great step.
7. Design work floors and platforms with smooth and solid decking that still allows for some cushioning.
8. There is a connection between increased healing time and age, so in the event that one of your aging workers does get injured, remember that it may take the employee longer to heal than a younger worker.
9. Improve lighting and color contrast around the workplace, as vision is typically compromised with age.
10. Ultimately, make safety a priority. Senior management must be visible in the safety effort and must support improvement.

Provided by Christensen Group Insurance. © 2010 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.