According to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) the average American spends over 1,800 hours each year, or one third of his or her life, at work. To make your workplace a safe and healthy place requires a joint effort and commitment from both the employer and the employee.

Each year, the ACOEM issues its Labor Day CheckList TM of Health and Safety to encourage workers and employees to examine their workplace for potential hazards. The CheckList TM is divided into three categories: healthy people, a healthy environment, and healthy company. "You don't have to be a trained safety and health expert to make an assessment of your workplace or home, said Jane Barlow, MD, MPH, FACOEM, chair of ACOEM Public Relations Committee and an occupational and environmental physician with IBM Corporation. "Workplace safety and health is the responsibility of both the employer and the employee. You can’t have a successful program without cooperation among the two."

Workplace hazards can be as complex as improper storage of toxic chemicals or as simple as a tangle of wires sticking out from under a computer desk. The 2000 Labor Day CheckList TM provides employers and employees with simple, inexpensive initiatives that can improve workplace safety and health.

For employers, suggestions include something as basic as holding annual employee health fairs. Invite your local hospital, occupational and environmental medicine clinic, American Red Cross and American Cancer Society chapters, health club, and other groups to educate employees on healthy lifestyle choices. Sponsoring after-work exercise and diet/nutrition classes can help be an inexpensive method to improve overall employee health, and by extension, productivity.

Holding regular safety checks of the entire workplace, including office spaces, can prevent costly accidents before they happen. Hold in-service seminars for employees to educate them on safety procedures and potential workplace hazards.

For employees, attending provided safety classes offered through your workplace can help you be aware of and avoid potential accidents. If your job requires the use of personal protective equipment such as face shields or other items, make sure you have the proper training on its use. Check it and all equipment at your workstation, whether on the factory floor or in an office, to make sure it is positioned properly to reduce hazards and potential ergonomic problems.

Because personal lifestyle choices can significantly affect an employee’s working life, the Labor Day CheckList TM also provides suggestions for simple, affordable things workers can do in their own lives that will have a positive effect on their health and safety at work. Poor lifestyle choices such as lack of sleep, overindulgence in alcohol or food, drug abuse, poor exercise habits -- all can contribute to worker injuries, deaths and lost productivity at work.

Click here to access ACOEM’s 2000 Labor Day CheckList TM , �Tips to a Safe and Healthy Workplace.”

ACOEM, an international medical society of 7,000 occupational and environmental medicine physicians, provides leadership to promote optimal health and safety of workers, workplaces and environments by educating health professionals and the public; stimulating research; enhancing quality of practice; guiding public policy; and advancing the field of occupational and environmental medicine.

Shari Lifland is a New York-based writer.

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