Current Issues

The issues studied and regulated by occupational health and safety experts
today vary widely by occupation. For example, physical threats like tall
heights and heavy machinery might be of greater concern to construction
workers, whereas mental health and repetitive stress injuries might be the
focus of office environments.

Even so, despite massive improvements to workplace standards, there are a

number of safety and health concerns in America's workforce where much
work can be done. 

Falls
Hundreds of workers in the United States die from falls incurred on the
job each year.12 While these incidents are almost entirely preventable, falls
are the leading cause of fatalities among construction workers.13

For many builders, working from tall heights is unavoidable, but with proper
safety precautions, deaths and injuries can be avoided. These precautions
should start before the work even begins during the earliest part of the
planning stages.

Employers should include the cost of safety equipment, like harnesses,

scaffolds, and fall arrest systems, into the project's work estimate, so that
every worker has access to and is trained to use the equipment they need.  

Heat Illness
According to OSHA, dozens of workers die every year from working
in extreme heat or humid conditions, and thousands more become ill. The
biggest proportion of these instances happen in the construction industry,
but it can happen to anyone working in an environment that isn't properly
climate controlled.

Employers are legally obligated under federal law to ensure that work
environments are free from safety hazards. That includes extreme
temperatures.

For its part, OSHA is encouraging business owners and managers to protect
their workers from heat-related illness and injury through a messaging
campaign that encourages them to provide water, rest, and shade to all
employees—especially when the heat index is 91 degrees Fahrenheit or
higher.14

Repetitive Stress Injuries

An emerging area of concern related to occupational health is injuries caused
by poor posture and repetitive motions. Many U.S. workers work almost
exclusively on computers, mousing and typing for hours on end, resulting in
the overuse of certain muscles and joints.

This type of repetitive activities day in and day out can cause injuries, such
as carpal tunnel syndrome and even eye strain.15 The tendency of modern
workers to also use poor posture while using electronic devices (both on and
off the clock) can also contribute to long-term pain, lost productivity, and
medical costs.16

Many employers find that investing in ergonomics and office-based safety

initiatives (such as targeting slips, trips, and falls) actually has a positive
return on investment once lost productivity and employer medical costs are
considered.