When employees are not working for an extended period of time and then suddenly return to their regular duties, a significant increase in injury rates is a virtual certainty.
So, what is going to happen when this all ends and, eager to make up for Covid-19 losses, you ask your now deconditioned workforce to work faster and do more? The figure below, distributed by NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance), supports our concern. In 2010, when we were finally climbing out of the recession and companies were ramping up operations, it was the only time in 20 years when workers’ compensation injury rates increased!
An increase in hiring, overtime hours, and accelerated work pace most certainly had an impact on this uptick in injuries, along with workers being physically unprepared to safely do their job after a long layoff.
So, what will you need to do? How can you welcome the right employees back into the fold and identify those who are not physically qualified to do the work? An important and effective strategy is to perform return-to-work/fitness-for-duty testing. You’ll be asking them to do the most physically difficult aspects of their jobs to make sure they have the strength and flexibility to perform the work.
Not only does matching the worker with the work help employers, it helps employees too. An OSHA report shows that workers earn 15% less over the next 10 years following an injury. So, with work-related injuries nobody wins – neither employer, employee nor the economy. And right now, we all need a win. Let’s make sure we bring the right workers back to the right jobs. https://www.osha.gov/Publications/inequality_michaels_june2015.pdf
Are you interested in learning more about what you can do to prevent injuries to workers, and damage to your bottom line?
