Workplace Health And Safety

In busy workplaces like warehouses, factories, construction sites, and hospital, employees can be put at risk for injury or illness just by doing their jobs. You might strain your back lifting heavy boxes, injure your lungs with exposure to toxin chemicals used in industrial cleaning, or develop a repetitive motion injury to your arm or wrist by working on the same assembly line for hours at a time. Workplace injuries can be either acute or chronic. "Acute injuries are from some sort of accident or sudden exposure, which we try to prevent through good safety measures. Chronic injuries result from cumulative exposures, which happen over time when the demands a task you have to do over and over again ultimately put too much strain on your body. Employers and employees are both responsible for worker health and safety. The employer is responsible for providing a healthy and safe workplace, and the employee needs to that serious, understand the hazards they are exposed to, and work with their employer to minimize those hazards.

You should always use personal protective equipment if any hazard is present. This can include respirators to lessen breathing in particulates and gases, ear protection when you are exposed to loud noises, and fall arrest systems if you are working high in the air.