As part of the National Safety Council, the MSD Solutions Lab, a strategic initiative to address musculoskeletal disorders, recently presented the results of a survey revealing the perspective of 1,000 nonmanagerial frontline workers across diverse industries on musculoskeletal disorder risk reduction, safety culture and innovation, and collaboration in the workplace.

What it uncovered was a difference in understanding and knowledge between frontline workers and safety and health leaders about MSD prevention programs, access to ergonomic tools, communication about safety and opportunities for involvement in safety-related decision making.

Specifically, safety leaders consistently rate their organization’s safety culture, communication and worker involvement more positively than frontline workers do.

Key take-aways include:

• Nearly 1 in 5 workers don’t have a clear understanding of MSDs. Few demonstrate an understanding of how tasks contribute to MSD risk.
• Almost 30% of workers who experience pain at work don’t report it. Roughly 1 in 4 don’t know how to report it or aren’t sure if a process to report it even exits. This results in delays in reporting pain and less favorable views of a company’s ability to prevent MSDs.
• Fatigue and workplace stress were the most frequently reported nonphysical risk factors contributing to workplace MSDs.
• Workers are more likely to report pain promptly when they are aware of ergonomics and understand safety programs. However, older workers in particular are less likely to understand safety programs, report pain promptly or feel confident in the company’s ability to prevent injuries.
• Although almost half of the workplaces represented provide regular ergonomics or MSD prevention training, only about 60% of workers report having access to ergonomic tools and equipment.
• New employees are less likely to suggest safety improvements than workers with more tenure.
• While 70% of workers are aware of MSD prevention programs in the workplace, it does not reflect participation in ergonomic activities.
• Employers who seek feedback and follow up on it enjoy better perceptions about safety and faster pain reporting by their employees. Workers who hear about ergonomics more often tend to have a more positive view of their organization’s ability to prevent injuries. A stronger safety culture, along with trust, is linked to better perception of MSD prevention and more proactive reporting.

Actively involving frontline workers in safety and ergonomics efforts increases information sharing and understanding, thus reducing perception gaps between workers and leadership, which contributes to better health and safety outcomes.

The report’s conclusion can be summed up thusly: engaging workers in identifying risks and shaping solutions helps improve communication and build trust, resulting in better safety outcomes. Involving workers in equipment design, job task planning and feedback mechanisms increases the effectiveness of MSD prevention.

Engaging workers in identifying risks and shaping solutions helps improve communication and build trust, resulting in better safety outcomes.

Action items for companies focus on include: increasing awareness and understanding of MSDs and MSD prevention strategies, improving pain reporting and early intervention, ensuring access to ergonomic tools and training, improving feedback systems, creating a strong safety culture and fostering trust.