7 Ways to Prevent Workplace Injuries in Retail

• What is the state of workplace injuries in retail?
• 7 ways to lower the risks of employee injury in a retail store
• How OrthoLive helps retailers improve their safety record

One of the costliest challenges retailers face is the increasingly high number of workplace injuries in retail settings. Today, the data shows us that a retail worker is even more likely to be injured over someone working in the manufacturing sector. This is placing increasing strain on an industry struggling to find the labor they need to conduct business as usual. 

 Just how frequent are retail workplace injuries? What is the cost to retailers, and more importantly, what can be done to mitigate this risk?

Retail workers suffer greater risk of illness and injury than even American factory workers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks the trauma, and now says that 3.5 of every 100 workers in retail suffer an injury or illness each year, and the numbers are increasing. These injuries, they note, are typically non-life-threatening, encompassing minor musculoskeletal conditions like strains and sprains caused by overexertion or slips, trips, and falls.

While the private industry overall benefited from a drop in workplace injuries in 2020, the retail sector has not achieved the same positive governmental report card—their numbers are rising. This, despite the fact that the regulatory environment that governs workplace injury is already robust and growing.

Getting a handle on retail workplace injuries is a high priority for safety managers. The higher costs associated with managing injury claims is exorbitant; employers paid out $163.9 billion in 2020 in wage and productivity losses. Another report found that the injury risk cost employers about $6 in every $1000 of retail revenue. Those numbers should be assumed to be much higher today.

Even one injured worker can cost you dearly. Exacerbating these costs is the candidate-driven job market that makes it harder to find talent. When you consider the average number of days away from work is 12 for an injured worker (up from eight days in 2019), it’s easy to understand why retail safety managers are so concerned.

How can retailers manage these risks in a way that benefits their employees—and their business?

When you’re thinking about the country’s riskiest jobs, retail probably isn’t top of mind. However, the numbers show an increased trend toward workplace accidents in this sector. Considering that productivity rises and labor costs decrease when workplace injuries are prevented, what steps can retail employers take to curb the rising numbers?

There are seven steps to a proactive retail store safety strategy to help avoid workplace injury:

1. Regular safety risk assessments
2. Defining higher standards for every position
3. Fostering a workplace safety culture
4. Providing the right gear
5. Providing remote work accommodations 
6. Developing an ergonomics plan
7. Establishing an on-site injury assessment workflow

1. Regular Safety Risk Assessments

While you’re required by law to conduct risk assessments, going above and beyond government regulatory rules is the first step toward creating a culture of safety while mitigating your risks. There can be many dangers present in the typical retail store, from poorly attached signage to packing debris in an aisle. Conducting a regular health and safety evaluation should include a customized approach to your unique workplace conditions. You could look carefully at:

• Equipment risks
• Fire hazard and code violation areas
• Hazardous substance storage
• Manual handling and restocking risks

The goal is not to penalize your workers, either. Instead, the assessment can be used to support your workers and keep them safe. A publicized safety assessment could go beyond reducing injury risks to also become a benefit in the organization that attracts talent.

2. Defining Higher Standards for Every Position

Each retail position carries physical risk. You can define the steps necessary to mitigate these risks at the very beginning of a job by writing safety standards right into the job description. Most employers fail to do this but it’s an important step toward establishing cultural accountability for the safety of all of your workers. While you may have safety standards for tasks, such as how to dispose of hazardous materials, you should also have requirements that encompass each job and its duties.

3. Fostering a Workplace Safety Culture

Steps one and two in the assessment process lay important groundwork for developing a safety culture in your retail stores. Safety training for your employees should never be one and done. This is an ongoing process that must raise awareness of the risks of on-the-job injury. Behind all of these processes, however, is a careful strategy rooted in health initiatives that proactively prevent injury before it happens—but also lays a concrete workflow for how to respond quickly should the unthinkable occur. Once this framework is developed, the safety team should work hand-in-hand with marketing to take advantage of teaching moments, whether it’s a change to OSHA rules or internal store policy. Even an influx of seasonal workers could be an opportunity for you to reinforce safety training as an important part of your culture.

4. Providing the Right Gear

Injuries from falling objects is a common OSHA report that retailers issue, along with back strains from lifting heavy loads improperly. Retailers can mitigate these risks by training employees to wear the proper equipment, such as back bracing, when unloading a truck or stocking shelves. From providing ergonomic mats for cashiers to issuing high quality gloves for cleaning, retail workers can benefit when employers provide the right PPE. This is particularly important in hazardous food prep settings, such as in a grocery store where heavy equipment is used. 

OSHA tracks not only injury statistics but also lauds retailers who step up to improve safety in their workplace setting. A recent report by the government organization states, “Grocery stores that have implemented injury prevention efforts have said they have successfully reduced work-related injuries and workers’ compensation costs.” 

5. Providing Remote Work Accommodations 

COVID was a significant contributor to workplace illness over the past two years. One study showed the total lost time from work could surpass the $50 billion mark. Some of the missed work was related to employees that could not travel to work because they tested positive for the illness but were asymptomatic. For employers that could allow remote work, these employees could continue to contribute to the organization even while being in quarantine. This happened frequently in the healthcare sector. When doctors and nurses tested positive but felt fine, they took on telemedicine appointments or other administrative tasks during their time away. This focus on working remotely has now caught hold and the latest data shows 74% of professionals say that remote work is no longer a trend but a fact of life for employers.

Where does that leave retailers, whose majority of work occurs in a storefront? With workplace safety as the motivator, retailers must make accommodations for scheduling flexibility to support their teams. 

6. Developing an Ergonomics Plan

Careful observation of your retail teams will likely illustrate the needs for an ergonomics program. Given that most retail injuries are musculoskeletal in nature, it’s critical for retailers to have a proactive plan for ensuring the right employees are doing the right jobs in the right ways to prevent future injuries and improve employee efficiency and satisfaction. 

Repetitive strain injuries from lifting, forceful arm and hand movements, or awkward positions for long periods all cause MSK illness over time. Creating an ergonomics plan can lessen these risks by teaching your employees how to lift heavy items in the right ways or how to stand properly on fatigue mats when helping counter customers can all help lower injuries in your workforce.

7. Establishing an On-Site Injury Assessment Workflow

Finally, you need a plan for responding immediately to an injury when it occurs. This can be accomplished through the use of telemedicine, a type of virtual healthcare that can bring a doctor or other clinical professional to the safety officer and the employee for immediate and effective triage of the injury incident. These types of programs can help keep minor strains or slips and falls out of the hospital ER; which is the most expensive point of care in our nation’s healthcare system. 

Given that most companies do not have an on-side medical team, the virtual telemedicine visit offers retailers a chance to provide immediate on-the-ground care should a workplace injury occur.

Within the context of an increased focus on worker safety, your business can achieve a competitive advantage. Not only will workers compensation costs decrease, but your emphasis on taking care of employees by making your business a safer place to work will help you attract and retain employees. A 2021 study showed that job candidates take these issues seriously and select their new position with this in mind. That should make reducing retail workplace injuries a goal not only for your company’s safety division but also for HR and talent acquisition.

Creating a culture of safety at your retail store goes beyond a checklist. The idea behind these proactive safety measures is to emphasize prevention in addition to providing immediate care when an injury occurs.

OrthoLive offers retailers an immediate, cost-effective way to focus on preventative, chronic, and acute musculoskeletal care through: 

• Injury prevention 
• 24/7/365 acute and chronic injury care with orthopedic experts 
• In-person and virtual clinics 
• Clinical services 

Find out how to drive improved outcomes for your employees and deliver lower costs to your organization with OrthoLive. 

Click here to schedule a demo and learn more.