Tag Archive for work injury

Jennifer Atkinson | May 5, 2012
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Coping with Stress in the Workplace: Part 2

In a recent article we discussed ways that excessive workplace stress can compromise a workers’ health, both physically and emotionally. High workplace stress can be triggered by a work-related injury or illness, or caused by fear of being laid off; putting in additional overtime hours because of staff cutbacks; sexual harassment or workplace discrimination; and pressure from managers to work at optimum levels at all times. Often times workers find it impossible to address these issues on their own, and turn to a Workers Compensation Lawyer or Employment Attorney to for help.

Yet some forms of stress are less “institutionalized,” and therefore easier to manage on an individual level. Small changes in daily habits and activities can bring about substantial improvements in these kinds of workplace stress levels.

Lowering stress in the workplace can enhance both physical and emotional health, while also improving job performance and personal career satisfaction.

In our recent article on managing workplace stress, we discussed Tip # 1 (Recognizing signs of excessive job-related stress) and Tip # 2 (Taking care of yourself). Hare are some additional steps workers can take to lower their personal stress in the workplace:

Tip 3: Reduce job stress by prioritizing and organizing

When workplace stress threatens to overwhelm your job, take some basic steps to regain control over the situation.

Time management

  • Balance your schedule. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. All work with no leisure or recovery time is a recipe for certain burnout. Seek a balance between work and family life, social activities and individual pursuits, daily responsibilities and personal downtime.
  • Don’t over-commit yourself. Avoid scheduling back-to-back activities or cramming too much into one day. We often underestimate how long certain tasks and commitments can take. If you find that you have too much on your plate, drop tasks that aren’t completely necessary to the bottom of the list – or eliminate them entirely!
  • Try to leave earlier in the morning. Even 10-15 minutes can make the difference between frantically rushing to your desk and having time to ease into your day. Don’t increase your stress levels by running late.
  • Plan regular breaks. Make sure to take brief breaks throughout the day to walk around, stretch, or clear your mind.  Try to move away from your desk or work station for lunch. Stepping away – even for a short window – can relax and recharge you, making you more, not less, productive.

Task management tips for reducing job stress

  • Prioritize tasks. Make a list of essential tasks, and tackle them in order of importance. Complete the high-priority items first. If you must complete something particularly unpleasant, get it over with early. The remainder of your day will be more pleasant as a result.
  • Break projects into smaller pieces. If a big project seems overwhelming, create a step-by-step plan. Rather than attempting to tackled everything at once, focus on one manageable step at a time.
  • Delegate responsibility. You don’t have to do it all yourself. If other people can take care of the task, why not ask them? Let go of your desire to control or oversee every step. This will eliminate unnecessary stress in the process.
  • Stay open to Compromising. When you ask a co-worker to contribute differently to a task, change a deadline, or alter their behavior at work, be willing to do so yourself. In many cases, if both parties bend a little, you’ll find a productive middle ground that reduces the stress levels for everyone involved.

Tip 4: Reduce job stress by breaking bad habits

As we become better at managing job stress and improving work relationships, we gain more control over our ability to think clearly and act appropriately. This allows us to break habits that add stress to our work lives – and can even change negative thought patterns concerning things that increase stress levels.

Identify self-defeating behaviors

Many of us make job stress worse through negative thoughts and habits. If you can reverse these self-defeating habits, you’ll find other sources of stress (such as manager-imposed stress) easier to handle.

  • Resist perfectionism. No project, decision or scenario is ever ideal, so striving for perfection on every front will just add needless stress to your day. When you set unattainable goals for yourself or take on too much, you set yourself up for disappointment. Aim to do a good, solid job; no one can ask for more than that.
  • Clean up your act. If you tend to run late, set your clocks a few minutes fast or simply give yourself extra time. If your desk is cluttered, file and throw away the mess; simply knowing where everything saves time and reduces stress. Make to-do lists and cross off items as you accomplish them. Plan your day and stick to the schedule — you’ll feel less overwhelmed.
  • Reverse your negative thinking. If you see the downside of every situation, you’ll becomes drained in no time. Try to see positive aspects in your work, avoid co-workers with negative attitudes, and reward yourself for small accomplishments (even when no one else does!)
  • Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Some things in our jobs and simply beyond our control— especially the behavior of others. Rather than fretting over them, focus on the things you can control, such as the manner in which you respond to problems.

Five Ways to Dispel Stress

 

  • Take a few minutes away. When stress at work is building, give yourself a quick break and remove yourself from the stressful situation. Take a quick walk outside if possible, or spend a few minutes breathing deeply or stretching in another room. Physical activity or just finding a quiet place to “regroup” can quickly reduce stress.
  • Talk with someone. In some situations, simply sharing your thoughts with someone who is both supportive and empathetic can be a great way to let off steam and diffuse your negative emotions.
  • Connect with others at work. Developing friendships and relationships with co-workers can help protect you from the negative effects of stress. Remember to reciprocate by listening to them in turn, and offer support when they need it.
  • Find humor in the situation. When used appropriately, humor is an effective – and enjoyable – way to diffuse stress in your job. Try to avoid taking things too seriously if a problem does not warrant it, and lighten the mood by sharing a joke or funny story.
Category: Department of Labor and Industries, Disability, Independent Medical Examination, Rejected L&I Claim, Workers Compensation Attorney | Tags: , , , , , ,
Jennifer Atkinson | April 29, 2012
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Coping with Stress in the Workplace

While a certain level of workplace stress is normal, excessive stress can take a dangerous toll on a workers’ health. Excessive workplace stress is often caused by a work-related injury or illness; fear of being laid off; working more overtime hours due to staff cutbacks; sexual harassment or workplace discrimination; pressure to perform to meet rising expectations but with no increase in job satisfaction; and pressure from employers to work at optimum levels at all times. Many of these factors are difficult to manage on one’s own, and require the help of a Workers Compensation Lawyer or Employment Attorney to be fully resolved.

However, there are also smaller and more easily-managed causes of stress. The good news here is that managing workplace stress does not always require extensive changes. Sometimes improvements can start by focusing on the one thing that’s most squarely within your control: you.

The ability to reduce stress in the workplace can not only enhance physical and emotional health, but can also make the difference between success or failure in a career. Emotions can be contagious, and therefore stress can affect the nature and quality of your interactions with other workers. The better you become at managing your stress, the more positive effects you’ll have on others, and the less co-workers’ stress will negatively impact you.

Learn to manage job stress

There are many steps workers can take to reduce personal stress levels in the workplace.

Tip 1: Recognize signs of excessive job-related stress

When workers feel overwhelmed on the job, they often lose confidence or become irritable or withdrawn. This can compromise your job performance, and even make your work seem less rewarding. Ignoring the warning signs of job-related stress generally leads to bigger problems like chronic stress accompanied by physical and emotional health problems.

Common Symptoms of excessive workplace stress

  • Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed
  • Apathy, loss of interest in work
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Fatigue
  • Difficulty in concentrating
  • Alcohol or drug use as a coping strategy
  • Muscle tension or headaches
  • Stomach problems
  • Social withdrawal

 Tip 2: Take care of yourself 

When job-related stress interferes with your ability to adequately perform at work, manage your personal life, or negatively affects your health, it’s time to take action. Start by paying attention to your physical and emotional health. When your personal needs are fully addressed, you’ll feel more resilient and be in a better position to overcome stress without feeling overwhelmed.

Even minor changes can lift your mood, increase energy, and make you feel like you’re back in control. Here are some common stress-management techniques:

Get moving

Aerobic activities that raise your heart rate are highly effective for elevating mood, increasing energy, honing your focus, and relaxing the mind and body. For effective stress relief, try to complete at least 30 minutes of heart-pounding activity daily. If it’s easier to fit into your schedule, break the activity into shorter segments throughout the day.

Make food choices that keep you going

Low blood sugar can cause anxiety and irritability, while overeating can make us lethargic. Try eating small but frequent meals during the day to maintain an even blood sugar level and avoid mood swings.

Drink alcohol in moderation

While alcohol can temporarily reduce anxiety, overconsumption can cause anxiety as it wears off. Drinking to relieve job stress can also lead to alcohol abuse and dependence in the long run.

Get adequate sleep

Not only can stress and worry lead to insomnia, but insufficient sleep can make workers vulnerable to even more stress. When we’re well-rested, it’s easier to maintain emotional balance, a key factor in coping with workplace stress.

For more information on reducing workplace stress, check back with us for the second part of this article. Stay tuned for tips #3 and #4 …

Category: L&I Attorney, Wage and Hour Violations, Worker Injury, workers compensation | Tags: , , ,
Jennifer Atkinson | April 25, 2012
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What is Worker’s Memorial Day?

Mother Jones

Each year, Workers’ Memorial Day, International Workers’ Memorial Day or International Commemoration Day (ICD) for the Dead and Injured (Day of Mourning) is observed around the world on April 28, a global day of remembrance and action for workers who have been killed, injured, disabled, or fallen ill because of their work. International events include direct campaigning and workplace safety awareness events. Public events include speeches, multi-faith religious services, the laying of wreaths and ringing of bells, planting trees, unveiling monuments, raising public awareness of worker risks, and laying out empty shoes to symbolize those who have died at work.

Workers’ Memorial Day is an important occasion to bring to light the preventable nature of most workplace accidents and illnesses, and to advance campaigns and union organization in the struggle for worker rights and improvements in workplace safety. The slogan for the day is Remember the dead – Fight for the living.

ORIGINS

Workers’ Memorial Day was first organized by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in 1984. The Canadian Labor Congress declared an annual day of remembrance on April 28, 1985, which falls on the anniversary of a comprehensive Workers Compensation Act in 1914 (see Workplace Safety & Insurance Board). In 1991, the Canadian Parliament passed an Act respecting a National Day of Mourning for those injured or killed in the workplace, thus establishing April 28 an official Workers’ Mourning Day.

INTERNATIONAL OBSERVANCE

For years, Worker’s Memorial Day events have been observed in the U.S. and Canada, and eventually worldwide. In the U.S., the day has been officially recognized since 1989. In that year, trade unions in North America, Asia, Europe and Africa publicized events and commemorations on April 28. The late Hazards Campaigner Tommy Harte brought Workers Memorial Day to the UK in 1992 as a day to ‘Remember the Dead: Fight for the Living’.

Workers’ Memorial Day is observed as a national day in countries including: Argentina, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Luxembourg, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, United States and the United Kingdom. Trade Unions in other countries including Benin, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Nepal, New Zealand, Romania and Singapore are currently pushing for government recognition.

Worldwide Deaths and Injuries

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), across the world:

  • Each year, more than two million women and men die as a result of work-related accidents and diseases
  • Workers suffer approximately 270 million accidents each year, and fall victim to some 160 million incidents of -related illnesses
  • Hazardous substances kill 440,000 workers annually – asbestos claims 100,000 lives
  • One worker dies every 15 seconds worldwide. 6,000 workers die every day. More people die at work than in fighting wars.
Category: Department of Labor and Industries, L&I, Work-related death, Worker Injury, Worker Rights, Workers Compensation Attorney, Workplace Accident | Tags: , ,
Jennifer Atkinson | April 4, 2012
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Long Work Hours Raise Heart Attack Risk

Employees who work more than 11 hours a day (as opposed to the standard eight) significantly increase their risk of heart disease, according to the UK’s Annals of Internal Medicine. Recent reports show that risk goes up by 67% for those who put in long hours at work.

The University College London team based findings on more than 7,000 civil service employees whose health has been monitored since 1985. They suggest that doctors should now be asking patients about working hours.

Lead researcher of the story, Professor Mika Kivimäki said: “Considering that including a measurement of working hours in a GP interview is so simple and useful, our research presents a strong case that it should become standard practice. This study might make us think twice about the old adage ‘hard work won’t kill you.’”

Professor Stephen Holgate of the Medical Research Council added that the study “could also be a wake-up call for people who overwork themselves, especially if they already have other risk factors.”

Over the course of the 11-year study, 192 of participants had a heart attack.  Those who out in 11 hours of work or more per day were more than 50% as likely to have a heart attack than those who worked shorter hours.

And factoring working hours into well-established heart risk factors (like high blood pressure), made the predictions far more accurate. Studies are now needed to see if encouraging employers to cut back on working hours (or getting employers to soften their demands) will improve heart health.

“Tackling lifestyles that are detrimental to health is a key area for the MRC, and this research reminds us that it’s not just diet and exercise we need to think about,” said Professor Holgate.

Experts suspect a number of underlying factors may be at play, such as undetected high blood pressure, stress, anxiety or depression, and being a driven, aggressive or irritable personality.

The study also raises related issues traditionally managed by employment attorneys, such as unpaid overtime hours, wage and hour violations, wrongful termination and workplace discrimination. An experienced Employment Attorney at Emery Reddy can help with any of these issues. In addition, workers who have submitted an L&I Claim with the Department of Labor and Industries, and need help with their workers compensation case, should consult an L&I Lawyer at Emery Reddy.

Category: Employment Attorney, L&I Attorney, Labor and Industries, Wage and Hour Violations, Workers Compensation Attorney | Tags: , , , , ,
Jennifer Atkinson | April 3, 2012
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Risk of workplace murder higher in U.S. than death from all causes combined in British workplace

Sometimes measures to protect safety seem to go too far, as many pointed out after the recent prohibition on performers throwing candy to their audience during routines.  But if we look at workplace safety using the statisticians’ tool known as the micromort (defined as a one-in-a-million chance of sudden death), we can appreciate what many (seemingly insignificant) safety measures have actually achieved.

Safety measures often to get little credit for the reduction in industrial accidents over the decades. England, for instance – the very birthplace of the industrial revolution – formed it’s current national worker safety program in 1974. At that time there were 651 employees killed at work, an average risk of 29 micromorts per year for a worker. Yet by 2010 that figure had fallen to 120, which is 5 micromorts per year (an impressive 82% decrease in risk).  Self-employed workers carry more risk, and 51 were killed in 2010, which raises the overall UK average to 6 micromorts per year.

National risks

Britain comes out ahead in comparison with other European countries. Statisticians with EU office known as Eurostat report that British workers were on average exposed to 10 micromorts per year in 2007, compared with 17 in France, 19 in Germany, 26 in Spain, 35 in Poland and 84 in Romania.

On this side of the Atlantic, the US Bureau for Labor Statistics provides some troubling statistics on the fate of 130 million workers in 2010.  A total of 4,547 workers were killed, a rate of 35 micromorts per worker per year. The most common cause was car accidents, which are not included in the European figures: without these the rate falls to around 28 micromorts per year, about on par with Spain.

But more surprising is that the second most common cause of death – bigger than falls or being struck by equipment on a job site – is “assault and violent acts.” This makes up 18% of all workplace fatalities, including 506 homicides (and this has actually fallen from 860 homicides in 1997). That means that each year US workers have on average around 4 micromorts risk of being murdered at work – not much less than the total risk to UK workers from all other causes combined.

Workers also commonly suffer from non-fatal – yet still serious – injuries including back injuries, work-related hearing loss, repetitive strain injuries, construction site injuries and occupational illness. The L&I Attorneys at Emery Reddy represent Washington workers with any form of work injury. If you are experiencing difficulty in recovering your workers compensation benefits from the Department of Labor and Industries, a workers compensation attorney at Emery Reddy can represent your interests. Every day our experienced Seattle L&I Attorneys help clients appeal denied L&I claims, provide guidance to workers who are required to complete an independent medical exam, and help others who experience difficulties with their L&I claim.

Category: Independent Medical Examination, L&I, Worker Injury, Workers Compensation Attorney, Workplace Accident | Tags: ,
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