As an employer, you know that injuries to your staff members are bad for business. They can lead to time off, workers' compensation claims, and the challenges of having to replace personnel for short or long periods of time. While accidents and injuries can happen, you should always be looking for ways to make your workplace safer. This means not only working to prevent sudden, acute accidents, but also looking at ways to lessen the risk of injuries that occur over time. Repetitive strain injuries, which virtually any type of employer can suffer, are something on which to focus. Here are some ways that you can lower this risk.

Enforce Breaks

Some employers encourage their staff members to work through breaks and even work unpaid overtime to get the job done, but this attitude can frequently lead to repetitive strain injuries. It's important for you not only to set up your employees' workdays to include regular breaks, but to enforce these breaks. Talk to your staff members and stipulate that you want them to take their breaks. If someone has a habit of working through his or her break, take this person aside and insist that he or she takes the break.

Switch Up Duties

Repetitive strain injuries occur when an employee does the same physical movement countless times throughout the day. For example, a supermarket employee who stocks shelves may lift products up onto shelves essentially for six or seven hours during a shift. This type of repeated movement can leave the employee at risk of shoulder, elbow, or back injuries. Lower this risk by switching up peoples' duties as best you can. For example, if a shelf stocker spends half of his or her shift stocking shelves, have him or her spend the other half opening boxes or breaking down empty boxes.

Be Mindful Of Consecutive Workdays

Confirm how many dates in a row an employee can work in your state before he or she legally needs a day off, and make sure that you heed this law. Some employers push their luck by having people work long stretches of consecutive days. Not only is this illegal, but it can elevate the chance of a repetitive strain injury. The last thing that you want to hear in a workers' compensation case is how the injured employee worked a long stretch of days before developing the ailment. By giving your staff members at least the state minimum of days off, you'll be encouraging their bodies to recover from the work that they do for you.

Should an employee get hurt, hire a workers' compensation attorney who has experience representing businesses of your type.

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