Workplace safety programs offer way to aid the recovery
The events of the last few months have placed significant pressure on business. Uneasy employees are seeking reassurance that their workplaces are safe and secure. Economic pressures are forcing companies to look closely at their operations to make sure that efficiency and productivity are top-of-mind objectives. At the same time, the deep and lasting emotional chord caused by loss and fear has many of us reexamining our personal and professional priorities. Americans want and need to believe that everything is being done to protect their families and friends at home and at work.
Tragically, in this country, 17 people die each day in workplace-related injuries. In 1999, five million people were hurt in private industry jobs at a rate that clocked a new on-the-job injury or illness case every six minutes. Daily fatalities and millions of disabling workplace injuries and illnesses are tragic not just for the deep emotional and economic misery they cause. They are tragic because in the vast majority of cases they can be prevented.