Do you really have to spend money to save money? When it comes to worker health and safety programs, definitely. It shouldn’t be hard to figure out that an investment in health and safety programs is an investment in your company’s future safety and security, but you may not be aware of exactly how high the savings will be.
According to Safety & Health Magazine, the average total costs incurred in a workplace in the event of a fatal accident can range from $991,000 to $1,420,000. These numbers describe the direct costs of an on-the-job death, which cover things like workers’ comp, legal fees, and property damage costs. However, the cost for a single worker death is likely even higher than Safety & Health’s estimates, due to associated costs like emergency safety programs, OSHA fines, productivity loss, new hiring and training processes, and changes to your insurance plan… In total, your company will be looking at something in the range of two million dollars or above after a tragic accident occurs — all in costs that could have been avoided had you invested in safety programs earlier on.
Safety planning is necessary beyond only economic arguments, of course. Investing in safety means that you will be able to keep your workers from harm and maintain your own peace of mind. The emotional and mental stress of being responsible for any harmful accident is not worth the upfront costs you might think you are evading, and the time you invest in writing and implementing a safety plan will save you a great deal more time in the future when your workplace runs smoothly. Safety plans will not only return your investments; it will increase your savings, you and your employees’ mental and physical well-being, and the amount of time you will have in the future to devote to other tasks.
