Nine Ways To Reduce: Key Insights for Workers’ Comp Success

Understanding nine ways to reduce is essential for anyone navigating workers’ compensation. Whether you are an employer managing premium costs or an insurance agent serving clients, mastering nine ways to reduce gives you a decisive advantage—helping you avoid costly mistakes and deliver better outcomes in the workers’ comp system.

How to Reduce the #1 Cause of Workplace Injuries

A Leader’s Guide to Preventing Costly Strains and Sprains

The single biggest driver of workplace injuries isn’t a dramatic accident—it’s the slow, steady damage from strains, sprains, and repetitive motion. These are called musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), and they represent the most common and costly category of workers’ compensation claims.

MSDs are injuries to the back, wrists, shoulders, and other joints. They are often caused by routine work activities like lifting, repetitive tasks, or working in awkward positions. The result is significant cost to your business in lost productivity and high insurance claims.

Fortunately, these injuries are largely preventable. Here is a straightforward plan to identify and address the risks in your workplace.

1. Analyze Your Claims History

Your workers’ compensation loss run report is a roadmap to your biggest risks. It details your past claims and can reveal patterns you might otherwise miss.

Look for trends:
* Are injuries clustered in a specific department?
* Do they happen most often to employees in a certain role?
* Are new hires getting injured more frequently?

Your data will point you directly to the workstations, tasks, or training programs that need immediate attention.

2. Make Safety Training Hands-On

Watching a video on proper lifting is not enough. To create lasting change, training must be physical. Employees need to practice the correct postures and motions to build muscle memory. Show them how to adjust a workstation for neutral posture. Have them physically demonstrate a safe lift. Active participation turns abstract concepts into real-world habits.

3. Ask Your Employees Where It Hurts

The person performing a task every day is the world’s foremost expert on that job. Your employees know which movements cause fatigue, discomfort, or strain.

Engage them directly. Ask for their ideas on simple fixes, such as repositioning supplies, adjusting workbench heights, or rotating tasks. Involving your team not only generates the best solutions but also builds a stronger commitment to your safety program.

4. Design Safety In, Don’t Add It On Later

The easiest way to solve an ergonomic problem is to prevent it from ever existing. Before you purchase new tools, equipment, or furniture, consider the person who will be using them. Involve your frontline team in the selection process. A small investment in ergonomically-designed tools is far less expensive than a workers’ compensation claim.

5. Promote a Culture of Wellness

An employee’s overall health can impact their resilience to injury. While you cannot manage an employee’s personal health, you can foster a supportive workplace. Wellness programs, clear communication about health resources, and a culture that destigmatizes stress all contribute to a healthier, safer, and more productive workforce.

6. Master Computer Workstation Safety

While the direct link between keyboard use and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is debated, there is no question that poor computer setups cause significant strain on the neck, back, shoulders, and wrists. These injuries are second only to back pain as a cause of work-related disability.

You can dramatically reduce this risk by teaching employees these simple adjustments:

• Keep Wrists Neutral: Wrists should form a straight line with the forearms, not be bent up or down when typing.
• Position the Monitor Correctly: The screen should be directly in front of the user, about an arm’s length away, with the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level.
• Keep Everything in Reach: The mouse, phone, and documents should be close enough to avoid constant reaching or twisting.
• Support Your Posture: Feet should be flat on the floor (or on a footrest), with elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.
• Take Frequent Micro-Breaks: Encourage employees to stand, stretch, and look away from their screen for a minute or two every hour.

7. Match the Worker to the Work

A clear, written job description that outlines the essential physical demands of a role is a critical tool. For physically demanding jobs, a post-offer, pre-employment physical abilities test is a sound investment. This ensures the candidate you hired can safely perform the tasks required, protecting both them and your business from a potential injury.

8. Use Your Expert Resources

You are not alone in this effort. Your insurance carrier, broker, and third-party safety consultants are valuable partners. Many offer ergonomic assessments and safety resources at little to no cost. A simple evaluation can uncover risks you never knew you had and provide straightforward, low-cost solutions to fix them.

Agents can sharpen their edge with the IWCP workers’ comp sales tools—resources built to help agents write more business and deliver better outcomes.

Employers can learn the fundamentals at Locked and Loaded Training, designed specifically for employers navigating workers’ comp.