Helping Your Older Employees Avoid Injury
Did you know that employees over 55 may be at higher risk of having a workplace injury? The numbers of claims for that age group seem to be rising, but all may not be as it appears..
There are two theories as to why older employees may make more claims on California workers compensation insurance than younger employees.
The first theory is that workers over the age of 55 are rejoining or remaining in the workplace longer than ever before and their larger presence is naturally resulting in an increase in injury numbers. The second theory, is that older workers don’t have more accidents in the workplace than younger employees, but when they do, they may suffer a more serious injury, and one that’s more likely to result in a workers’ compensation claim.
But perhaps you shouldn’t hold that against them – older workers are often experienced, dedicated, loyal and hardworking employees, and as an employer you’d be aware of how valuable those qualities can be.
So the logical solution would be to try to prevent the accidents from occurring by creating a safe workplace, rather than pressuring older employees into an early or unwanted retirement.
All your employees, young and old, should be confident in the knowledge that their safety is your main priority. A safe working environment may help give all your employees a measure of work satisfaction, and will lower the risk of claims against your workers compensation insurance.
