The self employed are 3 times more  likely to be fatally injured at work according to a 2014 Safe Work Australia study released today. The study explored work-related traumatic injury fatalities in 2013. This kind of information is really important for people to take note of especially if you are self employed or work in one of the high risk categories. The study found that self employed workers tend to work past the average retirement age of employees and work in higher risk environments like farming, transport, and construction. Some further questions need to be considered for the self-employed including are the self-employed more likely to: 

• Take more risks in general
  
• Take more risk under pressure / or be under more pressure
  
• Be less exposed to safe work practices (incl. team based safety approaches)
  
• Have less access to safe work practices and fit for purpose equipment

If you are self employed or employ the self employed these factors need to be considered and managed so all workers can have access to the same level of safety in their workplaces. Granted self employed workers generally with have access to minimal capital so some interventions / risk mitigations will be less fancy. As a self employed worker myself it would be great to see more/more available government education and intervention provided for these workers. 

Many people spend long hours at the computer, weather it be for work or at home, but they forget the most important factor -  Stretching! Stretching is designed to improve blood flow throughout the muscles and release muscle tension to support a full range of movement. Many workplaces over look the cost of injury associated with sedentary desk work generally because it is not considered to be high risk. However the cost associated with loss of productivity and lost work days (sickies) from back soreness and headaches as a result of not adequately stretching is impacting most if not all workplaces. Not to mention the cost of more significant long term injuries as a result of repeated, long term exposure to poor office ergonomics (the way we set up our work stations) which can result in people having permanently disabling injuries.

Prompts to help you stretch 
Work Safe SA Have released a desk-top card that can be displayed on your desk or printed as a poster for your wall. This serves as a reminder to regularly stretch. Owning my own business and spending long house at the computer I have been a culprit for not stretching, not because I don't want to but because I get so caught up in my work. So a prompt like this is fabulous, if you can put in near your computer work station in a location visible to you while you work its a great trick. While its good to get up and walk around these stretches are designed for you to do at your workstation, which means that you can get them done quickly and get back to it! 

Another other good tip is to consider using your computer calendar reminders every 1-2 hours to pop-up (audible and visual) and remind you to stretch, especially on those days where you know you are going to have your head glued to the computer screen. Some workplaces have started dedicated stretching sessions, run by stretching champions (persons trained by the company to lead stretching sessions) which combine both static (stationary) and dynamic (movement) stretches at pre-determined intervals i.e. start of shift, mid morning etc. Additionally some companies have put stretching pictures on screen savers for computers, the only problem is these generally only appear when your computer has been left for a while, but they are still a good reminder.

What does your workplace do to encourage stretching?

#Workplacesafety #customsafetyau #workplacestretching