My Business Zibb

Archive for September, 2011

Have you ever made a mistake at work because you misunderstood an instruction? Whether your confusion was due to mixed messages, excessive background noise or bad wording on the other person’s part it was probably embarrassing at best. At worst it may have led to you doing something that could have endangered yourself or another employee. But a misunderstanding can lead to an accident and an Ohio workmans comp claim.

Clear communication is an essential component of workplace safety. If you work in an industry that employs a large percentage of non-native English speakers, it might be worth considering the impact this may have on the safety of your working environment. According to The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), the agricultural and fishing industries have among the highest rates of workers compensation claims in the US and a number of these incidents are due to insufficient understanding of safety procedures by non-English speaking staff.

Providing language-specific safety training is one way employers can ensure employees understand any important safety procedures and hopefully minimize the risk of preventable accidents. Encouraging or even providing English lessons for staff is another way to help. Taking steps to overcome any language barriers in the workplace may possibly prevent a serious accident which could lead to a workers compensation claim.