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Organizations can dramatically reduce workers’ compensation costs by helping employees get fit for work

Introduction

Data from the National Council for Workers’ Compensation shows the high cost of allowing or even requiring employees to attempt work for which they are woefully unprepared, physically and mentally. Physically unprepared because their bodies are not trained for the performance requirements of the jobs they are asked to perform; mentally unprepared because they do not know that they are not prepared or, if they do, they do not train for the tasks that are required of them.

In the United States, workers’ compensation costs are highest in California at $3.48 per $100 in payroll; Connecticut is next at $2.87, followed by New Jersey ($2.82), New York ($2.75), and Alaska $2.68). The state with the lowest costs is North Dakota: 88 cents. The median figure – $1.85 for every $100 of payroll.

traditional approaches

These costs are a significant burden on businesses, a drag on workforce productivity, profits, job satisfaction and quality of life, and that’s just a partial list of issues.

What are companies doing about workers’ compensation problems, besides lamenting the fact that they pay so much for on-the-job injuries? Here is a list of thirteen steps that companies take or that consultants and other experts recommend they take.

1. Return disabled employees to work as quickly as possible.

2. Report only regular wages, if possible, when employees work time and a half.

3. Establish a joint labor and management committee to identify and correct health or safety problems in the workplace.

4. Educate and train employees on safe use of equipment, safe work behavior, and safety procedures.

5. Provide prompt medical attention if an employee is injured.

6. Determine if there is a pattern to such statements.

7. Instruct employees not to take risks.

8. Distribute safety instruction manuals to employees.

9. Hold managers and supervisors accountable for the safety record of their departments and crews.

10. Be careful when hiring.

11. Offer better health insurance to lower workers’ compensation premiums.

12. Classify job descriptions and employee titles correctly, as some classifications carry more risk, resulting in higher premiums.

13. Eliminate workplace hazards that have caused an employee to become ill or injured.

another strategy

Why not take responsibility for ensuring that employees are fit for work? Most are not fit for the job, in fact very few are. It is rare to find literature suggesting that employers ever implement preventative or “bottom-up” strategies; as in the previous list of thirteen steps, almost all efforts are “downstream”. Downstream strategies are those focused on saving bodies in the water, not keeping workers out of harm’s way in the first place, protected from the rough waters of weak bodies and unprepared minds.

There is another way that organizations can reduce medical expenses, decrease the incidence of accidents, improve productivity and achieve better results when returning to work. How? Engaging employees with REAL wellness programs that transcend chronic disease management offerings and go beyond preaching about exercise, diet, and stress management.

Companies can insist on fit workers, hire fit workers, train and support fit workers, and reward results tied to fit workers.

The number one risk of accidents and injuries is not random misfortune, malicious acts of God, or dangerous workplace conditions, although the latter is an inexcusable problem that must also be addressed as a matter of priority. The number one risk of high workers’ compensation costs is that people are not fit for their jobs. Specifically, they are not trained to perform and maintain the musculoskeletal function required by most 8 to 5 or other work schedules.

Workers must receive extensive training on the nature of genuine and wellness-worthy musculoskeletal fitness, how to achieve, maintain, and develop such fitness, and how to understand the risks of such fitness. Of course, different types of jobs require different levels of fitness, and these variations need to be understood and applied to specific work environments. Each workstation should be evaluated to determine the levels of musculoskeletal fitness required.

A thorough program might include musculoskeletal evaluations and job evaluations, depending on the scope of the jobs:

* manual handling.

* cope with existing conditions.

* strength and flexibility.

* skeletal alignment.

* body fat percentage and aerobic fitness.

Summary

Australian fitness and wellness expert John Miller describes a system for the prevention and treatment of what he calls “personally generated body system dysfunctions.” His work has shown that a high proportion of employees with back pain have a fitness problem: Their weak, tight muscles have allowed the pelvic bones, and then the vertebrae, to become misaligned. To quote Coach Miller, whom I have seen in action in Canberra, “Only on the rarest of occasions is back pain caused by a lack of rubbing, crunching, warming, vibration, taping, doping or surgery.” Or, expressed in the inimitable Aussie coach talk, “Expecting to be in good musculoskeletal health without staying in shape is a big job. It’s also a big job to expect to get better if someone does something to you. Sooner or later, you have to do something to yourself.” same”.

Feel good, look on the bright side and take care of yourself.