Preventing MSDs, a solution to reduce absenteeism
In sectors such as logistics, healthcare, agri-food, and construction, absenteeism rates are hitting record highs. Every year, we assist dozens of companies in these sectors to optimize their workstations and prevent musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). We have observed that good health prevention contributes to reducing absenteeism rates.
Preventing MSDs may be the solution you hadn’t considered to stem absenteeism. Let’s continue raising awareness to inspire others to initiate or engage in musculoskeletal disorder prevention efforts. 😉
The benefits of prevention: avoiding absenteeism and reducing its associated costs.
When an employee is absent, the entire production chain is affected. The work stoppages, replacements, and resulting disorganization incur significant costs. It is estimated that in France, absenteeism costs a company €3,500 per absent employee per year.
Since musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the number one cause of absence, minimizing the risk factors for MSDs has positive effects on absenteeism rates.
The best results are achieved by working upstream, meaning by implementing preventive solutions (rather than corrective solutions, which come after the fact).
cost of absenteeism per absent employee per year
Reducing absenteeism relies on preventing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
Now that we agree on the solution — preventing MSDs — what concrete measures can be implemented in the construction, logistics, healthcare, and agri-food sectors? Let’s move from theory to practice.
Establishing a concerted occupational health approach
Firstly, implementing a health prevention policy and then translating it into a process and action plan requires involvement to function. However, recognition of the fight against musculoskeletal disorders as a strategic issue requiring financial, human, and temporal resources is necessary for this to happen. Without a concerted approach, a project of this magnitude simply cannot be sustained. A concerted approach entails the creation of a transdisciplinary working group capable of addressing all aspects of health prevention.
Another game-changer is opening communication. By listening and giving voice to employee representatives, operators, and occupational health services, the company gains insight into the difficulties encountered by its employees in the field.
No one enjoys facing problems. However, this step is necessary to gain a clear understanding of the situation and determine the need (or lack thereof) to initiate a prevention approach.
Auditing and optimizing workstations
In the sectors we’ve discussed (construction, agri-food, healthcare, and logistics), the professions are known to be demanding. Workstations and movements involved often include repetitive motions and heavy lifting, placing significant strain on joints and muscles.
Over time, these deleterious movements lead to chronic pain and the onset of musculoskeletal disorders.
However, MSDs are not inevitable for these professions: we can now protect operators’ health thanks to our scientific knowledge of the biomechanics of the human body.
By analyzing the movements performed, a certified ergonomist can identify harmful motions and propose improvements. This step is called risk mapping. Through it, companies know which workstations need correction.
Once workstations are optimized, an employee can work for a long time without health risks. Goodbye musculoskeletal disorders.
Empowering stakeholders in prevention
Collaborative work methods, involving interviews and co-construction workshops, help implement the best solutions against MSDs.
As we’ve seen, it’s the operators and employees in the field who are most affected by health and safety issues at work. Therefore, involving them in creating solutions that will modify their professional daily lives seems natural. It also ensures the crafting of the best prevention solutions.
Creating prevention processes
Correcting workstations to limit the risks of MSDs is not enough. Occupational safety principles require going further: we aim to continuously improve actions, procedures, and internal organization to enhance the well-being and health of employees. It’s a genuine mindset to embrace.
Beyond workstations, proactive and engaged companies in their prevention approach will establish virtuous processes for their employees, such as onboarding for new hires or assisting returning employees after absence to support them during their return to work.
These processes frame individual actions and help prevent accidents.
At Moovency, we train companies to integrate health and safety issues at all stages of their prevention approach. In the case of creating a new position, we equip them to design workstations that respect the human body. Thus, they prevent the occurrence of subsequent disorders and reduce absenteeism.
Preventing MSDs has positive consequences on absenteeism in the workplace and employee retention.
Absenteeism is not solely linked to MSDs, but in certain sectors, musculoskeletal disorders inflate absenteeism rates. An effective solution involves implementing a comprehensive prevention approach applied at all levels of the company. Efforts are also made to limit MSD risk factors and improve working conditions for employees.
The benefits extend beyond just health prevention. Employees feel that the company cares for them. They express greater satisfaction with their working conditions and are more loyal. These are all positives, especially at a time when many sectors are experiencing significant recruitment pressures.