Study Says Work-Life Balance Key to Workplace Safety

Obviously, certain occupations are more dangerous than others, but a new study suggests that a worker’s perception of a positive safety climate and the work-life balance established by one’s employer can decrease his or her odds of being injured by nearly one-third.

Dave DeJoy, a University of Georgia (UGA) professor of health promotion and behavior, says over the past 20 years, there’s been growing evidence that management and organizational factors play a critical role in worker injuries.

“That is, actions taken or not taken at the organizational level can either set the stage for injuries or help prevent them,” says DeJoy, who, with Todd Smith, a recent graduate of the Health Promotion and Behavior doctoral program at UGA, assessed occupational injury risk among 1,525 survey respondents.

The survey determined companies that run in a smooth and effective manner and have minimal constraints on worker performance can decrease injuries by 38 percent as worker opinions improve.

However, in situations where work interferes with family life or family demands affect job performance, DeJoy and Smith found that the risk for injury jumped by 37 percent.
Read the UGA news release here
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