Preventing injuries when working long hours
Reported injuries may decrease during mandatory overtime, then suddenly spike when workloads return to normal. Long hours can cause stress or fatigue that contribute to accidents. Extended hours also increases exposure time to hazards (like repetitive motions). In addition, employees may be “working harder” and trying to get more accomplished during each hour worked. This could further compound the risks.
In particular, shoulder and back injuries may develop over time, and employees might ignore early warning signs as normal fatigue. Some might even feel that they cannot take time off (or slow down) because of their employer’s expectations. Instead, they “push through” to get the job done.
Finally, when things slow down but pain or other symptoms remain, employees see a doctor and report the diagnosis as a work-related injury, resulting in a spike of injury claims.
Preventive steps
To help avoid these situations:
- Encourage early reporting of symptoms and remind employees that ignoring pain could make a condition worse, or even cause permanent injury;
- Work with company leadership to evaluate the cost of hiring temporary help compared to the cost of likely injuries (and overtime wages);
- Evaluate ways to reduce exposures from lifting or repetitive motion, and consider changes that could be cost-justified by reduced injury costs;
- Where possible, rotate workers through strenuous jobs to reduce muscle strain.
Finally, as a supervisor, watch for symptoms (like an employee grimacing while stretching his back or swinging his arms) and evaluate whether the worker could be temporarily given less strenuous work to prevent a more serious condition from developing.
