Over half a million members of Britain’s working population suffered from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder in the year 2016/2017 according to the latest ill health in the workplace statistics from the Health and Safety Executive.
In total, this cost employers 8.9 million lost working days. While these figures suggest that more needs to be done, the Labour Force Survey results show that the number of musculoskeletal disorders per 100,000 workers are actually declining.
What’s more, the transportation and storage industry, which you’d typically expect to report a high volume of this type of workplace injury ranked just third. Both the construction and agriculture, forestry and fishing industries reported significantly more instances of musculoskeletal injuries, with construction the most dangerous field in this regard.
“While the headline figures are still high, there is also a very positive downward trend which we should note,” remarks Phil Chesworth, the managing director of pallet truck and materials handling firm, Midland Pallet Truck. “The fact that transport and logistics records fewer instances of musculoskeletal injuries is also positive as this is where you’d expect workers to suffer more injuries through loading and unloading, picking and packing.
“It’s fair to say that while there is a lot to be done, we can also take heart from the fact that injuries are on the decline. This suggests that employers are getting much better at protecting their employees, either via improved equipment or better training.
“Certainly, within the materials handling industry a lot of advances have been made. Heavy duty pallet trucks are capable of lifting heavier loads for example and there are more ergonomic hand pallet truck designs entering the market. These reduce pressure on the employee and help to alleviate some causes of back injury and other musculoskeletal problems.”
Overall, the work-related injuries and ill-health statistics from HSE show that the most common cause of workplace ill health is stress, depression or anxiety, with 40% of the 1.3 million new and long-standing instances reported citing this as a cause. Of the new cases reported, 46% were suffering from stress, depression or anxiety. The figures show that there is an equal male female split in the instances of work-related ill health reported in the 2016-17 period and a total of 25.7 million days lost.