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This is the time of year that many young people begin thinking about summer jobs. Many teens use summer jobs to gain work experience, spend time productively, or earn some spending money. Other teens and young workers have finished school and are headed out into the workforce to start making their living. As these young adults enter the working world, are we doing enough to safeguard their health and safety?
According to research from NIOSH, from 1998 to 2007, an average of about 800,000 workers, 15 to 24 years of age, were treated in emergency departments and nearly 600 died from work-related injuries. Younger workers were twice as likely as their older counterparts to be treated in hospital emergency departments for work-related injuries.
Previous research suggests that the increased risk for injuries among younger workers is related to:
- Ladder Hazards
- Cutting Hazards (knives)
- Work Pressure (perceived or real)
- Lack of knowledge, training, and skills to do the work they perform.
- Less likely to speak up about safety, to recognize hazards, and to know their legal rights as workers.
The new data shows that for workers 15 to 24 years of age (during 1998 to 2007) the most frequent cause of death for younger workers was transportation-related fatalities (this also holds true for older populations). Contact with objects or equipment was responsible for the highest number of emergency-department-treated injuries.
Males in the younger workforce are more frequently injured or killed than their female counterparts. Also of note is that young Hispanic workers suffer a fatality rate that is significantly higher than the rate for non-Hispanic white workers and non-Hispanic black workers.
Although the primary responsibility for workplace safety lies with employers, workers also have responsibilities for complying with employer policies and practices for safe work, and ideally they can help identify unsafe conditions and help develop safe solutions.
Tools:
NIOSH has a new tool - Talking Safety, which can help young workers identify workplace safety hazards, take measures to reduce risk for injury, and understand their rights as workers.
A new video is also available for youth education.
Tools:
NIOSH has a new tool - Talking Safety, which can help young workers identify workplace safety hazards, take measures to reduce risk for injury, and understand their rights as workers.
A new video is also available for youth education.
References
- Breslin FC, Day D, Tompa E, et al. Non-agricultural work injuries among youths systematic review. Am J Prev Med 2007;32:15162.
