As a law firm, you might be used to defending or prosecuting workplace injury lawsuits. But as a legal staffing firm in Sacramento, California, we know that if you’re not mindful about your own firm’s work environment, you could be on the wrong end of an employee’s workers’ compensation claim.

In fact, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), repetitive strain injuries – such as carpal tunnel syndrome – are the most common and costly occupational health problems, affecting hundreds of thousands of workers and costing more than $20 billion a year in workers’ compensation. In many cases, these are the injuries that occur in office environments, not just on construction sites or in warehouses.

So what causes these injuries? Here’s a look at a few of the most common culprits:

• Repetitive tasks, which are small, rapid movements that are repeated over and over.
• Sitting or standing in awkward positions and not moving regularly.
• Lack of break time between work activities.
• Using too much pressure or force, such as gripping a pen or mouse too hard.

As a legal staffing firm in Sacramento, California, we can tell you that there are ways that you can help prevent these kinds of workplace injuries without having to invest in expensive officer chairs or equipment. And the first key step in prevention is awareness and training. For instance, employees need to know the following:

• Good posture is crucial. If an employee is experiencing tightness, strain, or pain, then they need to adjust their posture or their chair.
• Gaze should fall naturally to the middle of the computer screen. If an employee has to look up or down at their computer monitor, then they need to move the display to ensure their gaze falls naturally to the middle of the monitor. Otherwise, they will be craning their neck every time they’re at the computer.
• Mouse and keyboard should be withing hands reach. If every time they need their mouse, they have to change positions or reach far for it, then their workstation may be out of whack. They should also be sitting in a natural position when using their keyboard. They shouldn’t have to strain in any way when typing.
• Regular breaks are important. Every hour or so, employees should get up and stretch or get a drink of water.

For you, if an employee comes to you with complaints about their workstation, take their comments seriously. They may simply need an adjustable chair, a keyboard tray, a mouse for their laptop, or a movable computer display. It’s in your best interest to comply as workplace injuries can be expensive in the form of both workers’ compensation claims and time off.

And if you’d like to find out how to reduce your workers’ compensation expenses, read our posting about How Temporary Staffing Can Help You Cut Costs & Improve Productivity.