Have you ever been injured at work? Maybe you know someone who has?

At FORDESPHYSIO we see quite a few people who have been affected by workplace injuries. We often find that the injury is not only physically impactful but also emotionally. These injuries and illnesses can affect many aspects of life for workers. Many report associated feelings of depression, anxiety and loss of identity, confidence and self-worth following a work-related incident. There are also the financial burdens associated with recovery and also loss of income if the injured worker is required to stop work temporarily or in some cases permanently.

October is National Work Safe Month and it’s all about shining a light on the importance of work place health and safety. It’s a great time to get up to speed on what can be done to protect yourself and those you love from becoming a statistic. At FORDESPHYSIO, we’re passionate not only about injury recovery but also about spreading awareness and education that can help put the rate of workplace injuries on the decline.

There has been a downward trend in terms of statistics, but they are still alarming:

• Over 100,000 serious workplace injury claims are lodged in Australia every year
• In 2015-16 90% of claims related to injury and musculoskeletal disorders and poor manual handling practices were to blame for 45% of these
• The three occupations with the highest rate of serious claims are labourers, community and personal service workers and machinery operators and drivers.

Workplace injuries are simply far too common! So, who is for workplace health and safety? Everyone. It’s really that simple.

We all have a right to remain safe and injury-free at work and everyone from front-line employees to upper management have the responsibility of ensuring that this is achieved each and every shift.

As an employee, you can do a number of things to keep yourself safe at work. For example:

1. Always practise good manual handling

2. Let people know if you’re not coping

3. Take care of yourself outside of work – exercise regularly, sleep well, eat a healthy diet, practice stress management etc

Last month Alex gave a presentation for Communify about manual handling and safe practices at work. In our next blog post, we’ll share some of her top take-home tips!

If you would like Alex to come and have a chat with your workplace, let us know! Alex’s visits can help you build on, strengthen and refresh your existing workplace health and safety programs and education.

We wish you and your loved ones a safe working month!

P.S Even though October is Work Safe Month, overall health and safety at work is something we should be thinking about year-round!

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