We all know why they call it "work." But just how hard on a person can one's job be? The U.S. Department of Labor has taken a stab at quantifying that.
Crunching federally collected data, the DOL said that, on average, 11 people die at work every day, from construction workers to data entry personnel to sous chefs. The Grim Reaper pays no attention to occupation, according to the DOL, and every job description exacts the ultimate price. Five million more are injured at work but survive to work another day.
Apart from those who drop dead on the job, another 50,000 pass away from one type of illness or another that they contracted at work. Meantime, 400,000 more recover from an illness contracted on the job.
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"These numbers are unacceptable to all of us, because as a nation we no longer accept the premise that injuries and fatalities are just part of the cost of doing business," the DOL said in an article on its website. "Safe companies have better financial results, they attract better workers and keep them for longer periods of time. These organizations know that a positive safety culture can boost employee morale, increase productivity and lower costs."
The DOL trotted out these statistics as part of a promotional campaign to push out the Journey to Safety Excellence program created by the National Safety Council and promoted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The Journey to Safety Excellence campaign is "the largest advocacy effort of its kind," DOL said. "This online campaign serves as a roadmap to help organizations and even individual employees — from the new safety leader to the seasoned professional – keep workers free from harm. Simply put, the Journey to Safety Excellence is a way to work on continuously improving."
The program makes available to employers, free of charge, these support materials, described by the DOL as follows:
- Journey Tools: Benchmark your safety performance against other companies. Get help measuring baselines, identifying and prioritizing areas for improvement, setting realistic goals and monitoring your progress.
- Journey Guides: Explore safety and health topics at your own pace with our Journey to Safety Excellence guides. Gain instant access to a collection of webinars, best practices, training resources and more.
- Safety Talk: Join the conversation on workplace safety to become a part of the solution. Connect with others just like you, pose questions, share practices and learn from the experts.
- Journey News: Stay up-to-date on the latest trends in safety and find out if a safety event is coming to a town near you.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
