Off-the-Job Safety

What is off-the-job safety?

Off-the-job safety is the extension of a company’s on-the-job safety culture. Off-the-job safety includes programs to educate and help employees who are “off-the-clock.” Formerly not considered part of business, off-the-job safety is now seen as critical to helping employers manage their health care costs, productivity and profits. But what’s most important, off-the-job safety programs help save the lives of employees and their families.

Impact of off-the-job injuries and deaths

U.S. workers are actually safer on the job than in their homes or communities, according to the NSC’s 2008 “Injury Facts” report. Nearly all of workers’ unintentional fatalities (10 out of 11) and more than 70 percent of disabling injuries occur off the job. For every two workplace injuries, there are five off-the-job injuries.

Direct costs and indirect costs

• Unintentional off-the-job worker injuries and deaths to workers cost the nation at least 223.7 billion in 2006, a staggering $817 per U.S. worker. This figure includes lost wages, medical and hospital costs, and administrative expenses associated with insurance.
• Employers lost more than 225 million days of production time due to off-the-job accidents. This figure compares to 80 million work days resulting from workplace injuries.
• Future lost production time resulting from off-the-job injuries occurring in 2006 will total an estimated 515 million days – more than 7 times the 65 million days lost in future years resulting from workplace injuries occurring in 2006.

These costs are even higher when you add healthcare claims and other benefit costs associated with injuries and deaths to workers’ family members.

Members-Only Resources

National Safety Council members have exclusive access to these additional resources to make their off-the-job safety program a success:

• Off-The-Job Safety Posters
  Download in English & Spanish
• Off-the-Job Safety Compass
  An understanding tool that demonstrates an off-the-job safety program is not a single program or event, but a complex, multifaceted journey that everyone in the company must undertake to achieve success.
• Promoting Off-the-Job Safety: It Makes $ense!
  Customizable PPT presentation based on Injury Facts®, 2008 data, designed to help you communicate the importance of off-the-job safety to management and employees.

The Results Are In...

While American workers recognize safety as a serious issue, their perceptions about their greatest safety risks do not mirror reality, according to a 2006 National Safety Council survey. Learn More...