Sure, here in the United States we have the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to help reduce workplace-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths.  Yet, as Wikipedia notes, in its 38-year history the agency has only secured a dozen criminal convictions for cases where willful violation of an OSHA standard resulted in an employee's death.  Many business leaders – especially those who head small firms – are wondering if the benefits of OSHA regulations and enforcement outweigh the costs.

It would seem there is a vacuum in making real progress here in U.S. workplaces – a point underscored by the relative lack of U.S.-based substantive results when you search for "hazardous workplace" on Google News.  The most practical tips and advice often come from countries such as Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand.

I was particularly impressed by content from a British source that Mark Harris summarized today on his Simply HR Jobs blog.  In a breakdown of the top 10 workplace hazards, he includes such seemingly forgettable incidences as repetitive strain injury (one form of which I addressed a few weeks ago), back pain, eye strain from staring too long at a computer screen, and germs.  Based on the Executive PA piece, Harris also tackles proper diet (five smaller portions per day, and not three larger ones, are best for your metabolism) and seriously misunderstood dangers that lurk in office equipment, including printer ink and even smog.

This list is a good one for you to check against what you may already have in use in your organization.  And if you are looking for fodder for employee engagement activities or workplace team building sessions, you can't do much better than talking about one or more common hazards.  (The topic of germs alone can cover several "brown bag"-type get togethers, with everything from work station cleanliness procedures to prevent the spread of colds to facts about the flu and where shots are locally available during flu season.)

Would your top 10 list of workplace hazards look the same as the Executive PA list?  How would it differ?