Among the numerous worries plaguing business owners in running their companies, the most dreaded one, by far, is a workplace accident. And there are no safe workplaces since according to Murphy’s Law, “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong”!
It is not that accidents happen every day or every week, but its possibility forever hangs like the Sword of Damocles over the business owner’s neck. If he is lucky, he may run his business till he retires without witnessing even a single accident. But if not, a workplace accident may affect his business in ways he may not have even contemplated.
How a workplace accident affects business
#1 Causes disruption
Imagine the scenario: A worker’s hand gets caught in a machine, and he screams. His colleagues rushed to help him, leaving their work. The work gets disrupted. The onlookers milling around leave their job to discuss how this happened and who is to blame. It becomes difficult to restore order. The injury sustained by the worker has a demoralizing effect on all workers, affecting their output.
The duration of disruption depends upon the severity of the injury. If it is of a serious nature, a disruption of a few hours is possible. For the business, this is a severe waste of productive hours. Even one day of disruption means loss of valuable working time. This does not augur well for business. So, for a business owner, disruption of work due to workplace accidents becomes his ultimate worry.
#2 Affects the business financially
The financial viability of any business depends upon its smooth functioning. If smooth operation gets interrupted by a workplace accident, it has a grave impact on productivity. Not only is the injured worker of no use to the company, but the productive time of those involved in this incident also gets compromised.
This means employees are not available for entertaining the queries of potential customers, who may be trying to contact them during this period. It also means that the employees may neglect to make important calls or close sales. This results in losing customers and thereby money for the company.
A distracted worker at his workstation means less output. And a decreased output may translate into delayed delivery of the product or service. If the company oversteps the deadline, it can lose the contract at worse or face heavy penalties for the delay at best. All this adversely affects the financial side of the business, as it shrinks the profit margins. And its effects may last for a week or even a month.
The other aspect of financial draining of the company is the cost incurred in the treatment of the injured worker. Most businesses pay for the expenses incurred in treatment. And medical bills can be huge. Also, they have to pay employee compensation money too. Adding to this, the worker may hire a personal injury attorney who may take legal action against the company to ensure that his client gets full personal injury compensation. All this puts a strain on the company’s finances.
#3 Tarnished reputation
If an accident happens in a company, it usually comes under a cloud, and its reputation is besmirched by wagging tongues. Of course, for this to happen, the workplace accident has to be of the most severe kind, since smaller accidents are not uncommon and do not cause damage to reputations.
With serious accidents, the first salvo is fired by the media on a company’s reputation. It may be a local newspaper or a major TV channel reporting the accident. And, more often than not, their reporting leans towards the injured, while making the company the villain. The second salvo is fired by the rumormongers, who distort the truth to such an extent as to make it appear factual.
For people wanting to do business with the company, all this acts as a red flag. It makes them cautious, and their trust in the company is seriously undermined. After all, who would want to do business with a company that cannot even take care of its employees?
Conclusion
Workplace accidents that seem minor can have big consequences for businesses. Such accidents not only waste productive hours but also affect the profitability of a company. Thus, businesses much endeavor to prevent workplace accidents at all costs with innovative technology and by making the working environment safe and secure for its valued workers.
