Prevent accidents in the office

Helmets, safety goggles and heavy boots with steel toecaps - this is how construction workers protect themselves from injuries caused by equipment, falling objects and sparks. According to regulations, because on construction sites the dangers are obvious. In service companies, on the other hand, the dangers are often less obvious and are therefore often underestimated. The office is by no means an accident-free zone - on the contrary: around 55 percent of all occupational accidents occur in service companies. At the office workplace itself, there are also complaints that are specifically related to sedentary work, such as back pain, tension, and tendon and muscle disorders. In Switzerland, around 1.6 million working days are lost each year due to musculoskeletal complaints alone. And employee absences weigh heavily on SMEs in particular, because in many cases work is left undone, a replacement has to be hired or overtime has to be worked by other employees. These days of absence cost companies and the economy an estimated 2.5 to 3 billion Swiss francs a year. For the employer itself, one day of absence costs around CHF 600.

Hidden sources of danger

With 2.8 million full-time employees, the service sector is by far the largest economic sector. Nevertheless, accidents in offices - compared to industries such as construction or agriculture - are often trivialized. Wrongly so, because dangers often lurk where they are not expected. One third of all injuries in offices are caused by tripping and falling accidents. There are many reasons for this: loose cables, open drawers and cupboard doors, slippery or wet floors, defective floor coverings, unexpected thresholds or steps, material placed on stairs, missing handrails, poor lighting or carelessly placed briefcases can become treacherous tripping hazards. Negligent behaviour on the part of employees also leads to accidents time and again: Anyone who climbs onto an office chair with castors, for example, in order to grab a folder in the top shelf, is actually risking their head and neck. Escape routes or emergency exits must also be accessible at all times - otherwise they can become deadly traps. A lack of movement, poorly adjusted office chairs and desks, incorrectly positioned screens and a work organisation that is not adapted to the conditions are increasingly leading to musculoskeletal complaints, stress or even burn-out.

Health in the workplace is the boss's business

In Switzerland, the employer is required by law to assume responsibility for occupational safety and health protection in the workplace. Health protection at the workplace is regulated in Article 6 of the Labour Code. Ordinance 3 to the Labour Act sets out these requirements in concrete terms and describes in principle in Article 2: "The employer must take all measures necessary to maintain and improve health protection and to ensure the physical and mental health of employees." Health protection is a wide-ranging issue and covers a wide variety of topics such as air quality, indoor climate, noise pollution, musculoskeletal complaints, mental stress and work organisation.

Identify and prevent risks

An important basis for safety and health at the office workplace is the recognition of possible hazards and risks in the company and the prevention of these. In office workplaces, for example, there are the following sources of danger:

• Trip hazards: Injuries from trips and falls caused by tangled cables, poor lighting, misaligned aisles, wet or damp floors.
• Slip hazard floors: slip and fall injuries due to wet flooring (cleaning, wet or slippery) 
• Glass doors and doors with glass inserts: Contusions, concussion or even head and cut injuries caused by running into glass doors due to poor visibility.
• Escape routes/emergency exits: Escape routes/emergency exits that are blocked, locked or not recognisable as such can become dead ends and lethal traps.
• Stairs: Injuries due to falling, slipping and tripping
• VDU workplaces: premature eye fatigue due to glare/reflection, back, neck and shoulder complaints due to the angle of the screen, one-sided sitting habits, screens set up too high or due to poorly adjusted or non-adjustable chairs and tables.

The Swiss Federal Coordination Commission for Occupational Safety FCOS provides a comprehensive list for hazard identification and measures to prevent hazards in its brochures "Hazard identification" and "Accidents - no coincidence" (available at www.praevention-im-buero.ch).

Support for companies

The "Prevention in the office" campaign of the Federal Coordination Commission for Occupational Safety FCOS draws attention to the often underestimated risks in companies in the service sector with office workplaces. It supports employers in assuming their responsibility for occupational safety and health protection in the workplace. Because usually a small effort is enough to create a lot of benefit.

The effort for more safety and health in the office is worthwhile.

The FCOS has the necessary prevention tools for this. For example, the interactive EKAS Box (www.ekas-box.ch), a free online prevention tool, offers managers and employees practical tips on the topics of ergonomic working, accident prevention, office equipment, office planning, work organisation, buildings/maintenance and self-management in an entertaining way. In numerous SMEs, large companies and public administrations, the EKAS box is already being made available to employees as a prevention tool or used for internal training. And the commitment to more safety and health in the office is rewarded: with efficient employees and fewer absences.