The U.S. workforce is getting older; people are retiring later in life than ever before. And this trend has been a major concern for those in the health & safety field, as traditional wisdom holds that older workers are more prone to suffer more expensive on-the-job injuries.

However, new research from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) calls into question this accepted notion—or at the very least, potentially changes how we think about “older workers.”

In a recent study in which NCCI studied different age groups and the rate at which they become injured, it was found that younger workers (under the age of 35) had substantially more cuts on their fingers and slightly more lumbar-region sprains than older workers (those aged 35 and up).

While those facts alone are surprising, consider that age split: A major analyzer of Workers' Comp data now defines an “older worker” as someone who grew up listening to Pearl Jam instead of Elvis. And because a great many employees in ths country now fall into this category, it should prompt agents to help businesses renew their focus on strategies that can reduce injury costs for employees of all ages.

Prevention from the Get-Go

Injury prevention for employees should begin before they even become employees—during the hiring process. Agents can help their clients develop a written functional description for the position that is open. Once that is complete, it is critical that the candidate whom the employer selects be given a conditional offer of employment: This document is a bona-fide job offer with the caveat that the employer can withdraw the offer if they are physically or mentally unable to do the job with reasonable accommodation.

Once this is complete, the client should have the candidate visit a physician and complete a post-offer, pre-placement medical questionnaire. Having this completed allows a medical professional to ask questions relevant to the job and to let the employer know whether or not the candidate is fit for the job. If they are, proceed; if not, they will have to find another suitable candidate.

Once a worker is on the job, it is critical that he or she is always mindful of how the job is being executed. Far more injuries are caused by unsafe acts by employees than any unsafe conditions in their workplace. Employees that feel rushed are more likely to set safety aside in the name of meeting a deadline—and those decisions result in accidents that could have been prevented.

When your client takes all of these steps and has a workforce that is fit for work and doing their jobs safely, then the focus turns to what happens when an accident does happen and an employee is injured.

Employees must know before they get hurt who they should talk to if they suffer an injury; immediate incident reporting is a key to keeping injury costs as low as possible. Studies have shown that the costs of an injury go up when there is a delay in reporting. Make it your policy that any employee injury is to be reported before the end of the shift.

Once the injury is reported, getting the proper treatment is key. Agents should help employers build a relationship with an occupational medical provider in your area. You can find board-certified occupational doctors on the Web at the official site for the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, acoem.org. Even if there isn't an occupational medicine specialist in your town, you can develop a relationship with a well-rated local physician and send your injured employees to that doctor.

The goal of forging a relationship with a top-rated physician is to ensure that the doctor knows the client's business and the physical demands of employees. The physician should also be informed of transitional work the employer makes available to injured employees. When a doctor knows that you will accept an employee back to work on transitional duty, they are far more likely to send them back to work rather than send them home.

If agents help employers follow those steps, then having older, experienced workers on the payroll can be a great asset rather than a potential liability. It can also create clients for life.

Special Reports /

Aging Workforce Raises the Stakes in Workers&rsquo; Comp Prevention

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