Page 36 - OHS, January/February 2022

PPE: FOOT PROTECTION
Worker Retention Starts with Easing Employee Stress and Strain
Employees are leaving worksites in droves—finding ways to give workers ownership of their safety and health could help retention.
BY KEVAN ORVITZ
Giving two week notice is no longer a rare courtesy, it is a frequent occurrence in workplaces across America. Re- cently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shared that 4.3 million Americans, just under three percent of the
whole workforce, left their jobs in August this year. Referred to as the Great Resignation, this exodus is effecting almost every industry. Employees are choosing to leave their jobs for a multitude of various reasons. Experts around the country are trying to detangle the motives behind this surging movement. The narrative behind the Great Resignation, is not just a tale of employees leaving their job for greener pastures. It is become a story of pent-up demand for hiring new workers. Statistics show that these trends are mostly affecting blue collar workers. BLS shows that individuals working in trade, transportation and utilities are in the top sectors of jobs affected by resignations. Manufacturing, construction,
mining and logging are not far behind.
It is also important to address the statistics we cannot yet
uncover, the ones brewing in the minds of workers across the country. It is the workers contemplating leaving the job that employers need to be mindful of. Recently, CNBC and global gender equality firm Catalyst, presented a report titled, “The Great Work/Life Divide” in which they discovered that almost 50 percent of employees are thinking about quitting their job. The report also provides some eye-opening insight:
■ 41percentofrespondentswereconsideringquittingbecause they believed employers did not care about their wellbeing.
■ 76 percent wanted their company to make work permanently flexible.
■ A third of employees thinking about leaving their current job would be staying in the same industry
These statistics and findings shed an informative light onto the struggles facing every employer and workplace. Amidst the tsunami of resignations, employers are beginning to wonder how they can retain employees and prevent losses. Employees who leave their job don’t simply wake up one morning and decide
to quit. These workers reach a breaking point, after months of seemingly endless work related strain and stress.
Success Starts with Discussion
Employers who hope to retain their workers need to establish an atmosphere and ethos of open communication between employees and management. Employees want to know:
■ Does this company/management care?
■ Are coworkers caring?
■ Does the company have values or a moral compass?
■ Is my pay fair?
■ Is this work culture supportive?
■ How can this role become more fulfilling?
Employers may believe these answers are obvious, known or
unimportant. However, employees contemplating their desire to work within their current company are lacking the knowledge and support they need to continue clocking in and out.
Proactive Support
Hindsight can provide powerful motivation or guilt. Experiencing a response that is not aligned with our goals can feel devastating. Watching one of your most valued employees quit because they have experienced too much physical strain will make an employer wish they had resolved ergonomic problems before they became unsolvable.
Employers need to provide their employees with meaningful PPE. Amongst the wave of resignations, workers have an increasing desire to feel supported, seen and cared for by their managers. Catering to the wellbeing of employees demonstrates the care and compassion, many employees debate as they contemplate their desire to work.
One of the most common reasons for complaint in workplaces around the country are ailments that stem from incorrect or uncomfortable footwear. When workers are not provided the right type of shoe for the hazards present in their workplace, they can suffer common foot problems like blisters, plantar fasciitis and even arch issues that can result in long term leg or back pain.
Staying Light on Your Feet
One program that has proven effectiveness in increasing workplace wellness and safety, is an insole program. Seemly simplistic, this proactive approach to health and wellness can revolutionize a job-site, or workplace, from the ground up.
Industrial workers are accustomed to physically feeling the burden of the job. These workers are on their feet all day, working long hours, standing on hard and uneven surfaces, facing strenuous and potentially debilitating musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. Implementing an insole program, offering clinically designed dual layer memory foam insoles, can give workers the necessary support that can prevent injuries, aches, pains and
32 Occupational Health & Safety | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
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