As someone who makes your living working in a Minnesota warehouse, you may have firsthand knowledge of the aches, pains and injuries that often come with a warehouse position. Factors like training and staff size impact injury risks. However, new research shows that something else plays a key role in your warehouse injury risk: the pace of work in your warehouse.
According to Business Insider, one of the nation’s most prolific warehouse employers insists on a pace of work that poses a serious safety threat to its more than 750,000 national employees. A recent review of injuries suffered by employees who work for that warehouse employer shows that they are far more prone to injury than warehouse workers who work for other employers.
Common injuries
Warehouse work is tough on the body, leading to many different types of injuries. However, sprains and strains are quite common among warehouse workers, and they are four times more likely to occur in warehouses owned by one particular warehouse employer than in all other warehouses in the industry. Studies also show that employees who work for this particular employer are twice as likely to suffer a serious injury as warehouse workers who work for different employers.
Double standards
Many employees who work for the large warehouse employer say their supervisors tell them that if they need to slow down to maintain safety, they should do so. However, many of the warehouse employer’s workers also say that double standards exist and that when they do slow down, they receive warnings to enhance productivity.
A series of inspections of warehouse facilities conducted between 2020 and 2022 indicate a “direct connection” between the pace of warehouse work and the prevalence of worker injuries.
