Unit 6

physical hazards 1

HPEO 408
Occupational Health Hazards
 Ergonomic hazards
Supplementary to textbook assigned reading
 Introduction to ergonomic hazards

 Ubiquitous exposure!

 Ergonomic risks can be found across all industries:

 Office work
 Retail
 Tourism
 Healthcare
 Heavy industry

 Ergonomic hazards fall into 5 main classes:

 Force exertion
 Repetitive motion
 Postures (awkward and static)
 Contact stress
 Force exertion

 Involves the body exerting a physical force during their work task

 Most common when doing manual tasks

 Examples of force exertion:

 Lifting/carrying
 Pushing
 Pulling
 Gripping
 Pinch grips (force usually between fingers and thumb)
 Power grips (force usually between fingers and palm)
 Swinging (e.g. hammering)
 Repetitive motion

 Involves repeating the same task/movement using the same

limb/muscle over a length of time

 Severity of risk highly dependent on rate of motion and duration

 Examples of repetitive motion tasks:

 Typing
 Scanning (e.g. grocery store clerk, ultrasound technicians)
 Production line work
 Laboratory work (e.g. pipetting)
 Agriculture workers (e.g. berry picking)
 Awkward posture

 Occurs when the body is moved in a position that causes strain

 Working in awkward postures increases the amount of force needed to complete
the task
 Work surfaces at improper heights important risk factor

 Examples of awkward postures include:

 Bending (forward, backward, and to the side)
 Cradling phone in neck
 Twisting
 Transferring loads while standing still
 Squatting
 Agriculture workers
 Over reaching
 Cleaning bathtubs
 Static posture

 Occurs when the body or body part stays in the same position for a long
period of time

 Increases the static load to the muscles/tendons to maintain position

 Examples of static postures include:

 Gripping tools that cannot be put down
 Traffic control person (i.e. flagger)
 Holding the arms out or up to perform tasks
 Automobile repair
 Standing in one place for prolonged periods
 Cashier
 Contact stress

 Occurs from contact (occasional, repeated, or continuous) between a hard or sharp

object and the body tissues

 Most common on soft tissue of the fingers, palms, forearms, thighs, shins, and feet

Common examples:

 Using the body as a “hammer”  Standing/kneeling on hard surfaces

 Using palm to push things
 Carpet kicker  Pressing of tool handles into the palms
 Resting wrists on desk edge while
 Sitting in chair poorly setup typing
 Without adequate space for the knees
 Wearing latex gloves that are too tight
 Seat pan too long
 Chair too short
 Ergonomic summary

 Exposure to one ergonomic risk factor may be enough to cause or

contribute to an adverse effect

 Multiple ergonomic hazards often occur together, increasing the

likelihood of an adverse effect

 Severity depends on:

 Duration
 Frequency
 Magnitude
 Ergonomic resources

 Textbook
 Assigned reading will cover the adverse effects and some controls
 Remaining textbook chapter material very specific and good source for
additional information if interested

 Many free worksheets/resources available online

 WorkSafeBC Ergonomic publications website
 See worksheets for identifying and assessing ergo hazards
 NIOSH Ergonomics information site
 Ergoweb
 Washington State Department of Labor and Industries : Ergonomic Ideas Bank
 Cornell University computer use tips: CUergo
Psychosocial hazards
 Introduction to psychosocial hazards

 Psychosocial hazards are hazards that are unique in that they tend to be a
result of interactions between people or work characteristics rather than an
hazardous agent
 Historically not considered hazards but rather “stressors”

 Emerging issue in occupational health!

 The classifications of psychosocial hazards are hazy and change based on

industry/country/occupation

 The main psychosocial hazards we will review are:

1.Shift work
2.Fatigue
3.Workplace violence
4.Bullying
5.Workplace stress
Why should workplaces care about
Psychosocial hazards?
 Shift work

 Considered any non-standard 8-hr working shift between the hours of

7:00 am – 6:00 pm including:
 Swing shift
 Evening/night shift
 Rotational shifts
 Weekend work
 Split shifts
 On call/casual
 Irregular schedule
 Extended workdays

 How big is the problem?

 In 2005 approximately 28% (4.1 million) of Canada’s working population
worked irregular/shift work
High risk occupations/industries
 Shift work

 Shift work has been linked with multiple adverse effects including
increased injury rates, gastrointestinal diseases, metabolic syndrome,
cancer, and cardiovascular disease

 Mechanism for harm thought to be due to sleep deprivation that leads to

disruption of the circadian rhythm (i.e. biological clock)

 Shift work has now classified as a Group 2A carcinogen (probably

carcinogenic to humans) by IARC
 shift work Controls

 Difficult to control but some options that can lessen the effects may
include changes to:

2.Shift rotations
 Quicker rotation of shifts (i.e. 2 days/2 nights vs. 5 days/5 nights) allows for quicker
circadian rhythm recovery
 For swing shifts 2 weeks of day shift/2 weeks of night shift better than one week
rotations however, there is some debate over this as the rhythm is influenced on the
weekends when sleep patterns are altered
 Have a forward rotating shift (i.e. morning > evening > night) as it is easier for the
circadian rhythm to move forward than backward

4.Education
 Educate workers on importance of sleep, diet, and exercise while doing shift work
 Shift work controls II

1. Have longer breaks between shifts

 Provides more time to recover
 Recommended to have a minimum of 24 hours between rotation changes

3. Shift start times

 Early morning shifts have been shown to cause fatigue
 Try to avoid shifts that start before 7:00 am

5. During work time

 Have well lit areas
 Provide frequent breaks and opportunity to move around
 Fatigue

 Fatigue is the state of feeling very tired, exhausted, weary, or sleepy

 There are many work and non-work causes of fatigue including:

 Inadequate rest (insufficient sleep duration, insufficient break between shifts)

 Long or irregular work hours (overlaps/combined with shift work)
 Prolonged mental or physical activity
 Prolonged periods of stress or anxiety
 Sleep disorder or other health condition
 fatigue

 Fatigue can be either acute or chronic

 Acute fatigue
 short-term sleep loss / short periods of heavy physical or mental work
 effects are of short duration and usually can be reversed by sleep and relaxation

 Chronic fatigue
 Long-term sleep loss or overwork
 Recovery requires extended rest

 How much sleep is enough?

 Research suggest adults get at least 7.5 to 8.5 hours everyday
 Avoid accumulation of a sleep “debt”
 Fatigue

 Adverse effects of fatigue:

 Impaired judgment (increase in risk-taking, accidents, and incidents)
 Reduced attention/vigilance, memory, reaction time, and
productivity/performance
 Difficulty in concentration (decision making, planning, communication)
 Reduced visual and hand to eye co-ordination
 Falling asleep on the job
 Increase in absenteeism and presenteeism
 Reduced ability to handle stress on the job

 Fatigue a special problem in jobs involving heavy machinery or driving (i.e.

long-haul truck drivers)

 NOTE: fatigue levels are not easily measured or quantified

 Hard to determine if workers fatigue level was cause during accidents/injuries
investigations
 Workplace violence

 Workplace violence is any act towards an employee at work, or due to their

work, that causes the worker to feel they may be at risk for physical harm
 Violence includes verbal, physical, or emotional acts
 Most people still consider violence as having the risk of physical harm only;
however definitions are changing and other forms of “abuse” are now being
considered violence without physical harm (i.e. bullying)
Examples of violent acts
 Types of violence

 Criminal
 violence committed to employees by citizens with no association with the organization
or victim
 Ex. robbery (cash, drugs)

 Service user
 violence committed to employees by patrons/service users
 Ex. bouncer injured during job removing drunk patron

 Worker–on-worker
 violence committed to employees by other employees
 Ex. fight between co-workers about promotion

 Domestic
 violence committed to employees by a citizen with no association with the organization,
but with a fellow employee
 Ex. husband/wife of worker attacks co-worker over suspected affair
 Risk factors for violence

 The population
 Working with the public
 Working with unstable or volatile persons

 The location
 Working in community-based setting/having mobile workplace (e.g. home support workers,
taxi drivers)
 Working in high crime rate areas or isolated areas

 The service
 Work in premises where alcohol is served

 The time
 Working during periods of high/elevated stress (e.g. tax season, Christmas)
 Working late at night or early morning
 Working during periods of intense organizational change (e.g. strikes, downsizing)

 Working alone
High risk jobs for violence
 Control of workplace violence

Control options highly depends on the type of violence; however, some

examples of how to reduce workplace violence can be done by breaking
control options into management, administrative, workplace design, and
equipment:

Workplace Management – these are control options designed and

monitored by management. Mostly these relate to rules and regulations of
violence in the workplace
 Educate workers on identifying workplace violence
 Clearly defining what is unacceptable behavior and consequences of violent
acts
 Assure confidentiality to those reporting violent incidents
 Control of workplace violence

 Administrative – these are control options that influence how work is performed

 Keeping cash on hand to a minimum

 Using electronic payment systems to reduce the amount of cash available
 Changing bank deposit or cash handling activities at varying times of the day/ using licensed
security firm for cash pickup
 Have security (ID badges / security patrol)
 Well defined working alone procedures/rules (contact person, posted schedule)
 If working out of office use buddy system if possible
 Always work in pairs when having a potentially confrontational meeting
 Training in aggression management, emergency preparedness
 Increase the amount of workers during peak times to increase efficiency
 If possible make customer interactions over phone, limit face-face interactions
 Provide mobile phones to workers with moving office
 Control of workplace violence

 Workplace Design – these control options are meant to consider the

physical layout and space arrangement that could influence security.
 Position reception/sales or service counter so that it is visible by passers
 Keep or enhance visibility of office/store through windows
 Positioning office furniture so employees are closer to a door/exit than the
client
 Increase the width/depth of service desks to increase difficulty in obtaining
physical contact with employee
 Install barriers between employee and customer
 Limit number of entries into store/office
 Ensure workspace and entrances are well lit
 Control of workplace violence

 Workplace Equipment – these control options can be used to help deter

violence or be used to summon assistance in the event of an emergency

 Payment options - electronic payment system will reduce amount of cash

available on site
 Drop or time-lock safe
 Install door alarms or buzzers to notify worker someone entered the space
 Install security devices (cameras, alarms)
 Use signage to alert customers of security measures/no cash on hand
 Have form of communication available (phones, walki-talkie)
 Bullying, harassment, and Mobbing

 Varying definitions of bullying, harassment, mobbing, and violence

 Based on broad definition of violence bullying, harassment, and mobbing are all forms of violence however, many
people still regard violence as only threats/acts of physical harm
 Below are some small differences to help explain the difference between the three terms:

 Bullying is typically considered repeated aggressive/unreasonable behavior that is meant to

intentionally hurt another person (physically or mentally)
 Main reason is to gain power or increase self esteem
 Bullying is often not identified for weeks or at times months

 Harassment differs as it is usually linked to a particular demographic feature of the person such as their
gender, race, sexual orientation, or disability
 Main reason is to “hurt” victim
 Often incidents are not repeated and are one time incident
 Harassment is usually identified quickly/immediately

 Mobbing occurs when more than one person is involved in the bullying acts/events
 Often caused by one “ringleader” who bullies others into their activities
 Bullying

 Examples of bullying behavior:

 Gossiping or starting “rumors” about the victim
 Name calling
 The silent treatment/refusing to socialize with victim
 Manipulating
 Laughing/staring at victim
 Mocking victim
 Criticizing the victim repeatedly (e.g. work, dress,
behavior)
 Undermining or impeding a person's work
 Assigning unwarranted punishment/unreasonable
amount of work
 Obstruct victim advancement if possible  Outcomes of bullying
 Tampering with victim’s belongings/work/work  Social isolation
equipment
 “Stress”
 Reduced self esteem
 Absenteeism
 Many others…
 Controlling bullying

 Examples on how to control or limit bullying are:

1. Develop a Workplace Bullying Policy

 Clearly outlines inappropriate behavior, consequences to comply with policy
 Clearly outlines complaint handling and investigation procedures
 Provide a “neutral” contact person for complaints/concerns

2. Provide training for management and workers on workplace bullying

4. Provide leadership training

 Controlling bullying II

2. Develop a mentoring program for new or junior employees

4. Human Resources
 Provide clear job descriptions for each position in the company
 Keep statistics on absenteeism, injuries, complaints, etc.
 Identify and support employees at higher risk
 Develop standard operating procedures
 Review and monitor workloads and staffing levels
 Limit work hours
 Seek regular feedback from staff about roles and responsibilities
 Workplace stress

 World Health Organization definition

of workplace stress:

“Work-related stress is the response

people may have when

presented
with work demands and pressures
that are not
matched to their
knowledge and abilities and which
challenge their Obtained from: http://gururatings.org/work-stress/
 stress

 It is important to note that “Stress” can be positive and negative, but too
much stress can be harmful

 When faced with a stressor the body has a physical reaction called the “fight
or flight” response
 Causes the body to stimulate the production of additional hormones (adrenaline
and cortisol) to help “deal” with the stressor
 The hormone release temporarily:
 Increases alertness and strength
 Improves immunological activity
 Decreases pain

 Chronic exposure to stress, that the body is unable to handle, can lead to
many adverse effects such as ulcers, headaches, mood changes, weight
gain/loss
 Job stressor examples

Factors unique to the job •Workload (overload/underload)

•Pace / variety / meaningfulness of work
•Autonomy (e.g., ability to make your own decisions about your job or specific tasks)
•Physical environment (noise, air quality, etc)
•Isolation at the workplace (emotional or working alone)

Role in the organization •Role conflict (conflicting job demands, multiple supervisors/managers)
•Role ambiguity (lack of clarity about responsibilities, expectations, etc)
•Level of responsibility

Career development •Under/over-promotion

•Job security (fear from economy, or lack of tasks or work to do)
•Career development opportunities
•Overall job satisfaction

Relationships at work •Supervisors

(Interpersonal) •Coworkers
•Subordinates
•Threat of violence, harassment, etc (threats to personal safety)

Organizational •Participation (or non-participation) in decision-making

structure/climate •Management style
•Communication patterns
Adapted from: Murphy, L. R., Occupational Stress Management: Current Status and Future Direction. in Trends in Organizational Behavior, 1995, Vol. 2,
p. 1-14)
 Workplace stress Control for employees

 Learn better communication skills with management, coworkers, and subordinates

 Improve time management

 Balance your schedule to incorporate breaks
 Arrive a few minutes early for work to prepare for your day
 Prioritize your work tasks and complete in order of importance
 Don’t take on more work than you can complete (i.e. don’t set up for failure)
 Break your projects into smaller less overwhelming tasks, provides sense of accomplishment

 Learn how to ask for help

 Don’t try to control everything, delegate responsibilities when possible
 Know your limits and when to ask for help if you don’t understand your work

 Improve your health and wellness

 Exercise
 Eat healthy
Workplace stress controls for employers
 Workplace stress resources

 SFU’s GuardingMinds@Work software for evaluating workplace stress

(free registration for company use)

 The job stress network

 NIOSH’s Stress At Work resource page