Warehouse work is tough on the body. If you are among a growing number of California residents who make your living in a warehouse environment, it is important that you recognize how the pace of work in your warehouse environment affects your overall injury risks.
According to Business Insider, recent studies show a clear and direct link between the pace of work in American warehouses and how often employees who work in those warehouses experience injuries. The pace of work is particularly high in warehouses owned by one of the nation’s biggest warehouse employers, and the injury rate among that employer’s workers is much higher than national averages as a result.
How pace of work affects injury rates
As more Americans opt for shopping online, the demands on warehouse workers continue to grow. Some workers employed by the nation’s prolific warehouse employer say that when they raise concerns about the pace of work raising injury risks, their supervisors tell them to slow down. Yet, when slowing down starts to affect output, those same supervisors tell them they need to speed things up. The faster an employee works, the more likely he or she is to cut corners and avoid safety protocols, which heightens injury risks.
What injuries are most common in warehouses
Research shows that if you work for one particular national warehouse employer, your risk of suffering a serious on-the-job injury is twice that seen by warehouse workers employed by other companies. You are also four times more likely to suffer a sprain or strain than you would be if you worked for a different warehouse employer.
Some warehouse worker injuries are serious enough to cause long-term pain and complications. Many are also serious enough to make you and other warehouse employees miss work.
