5 Workplace Dangers (non-COVID) That Professionals Face as They Return to Work

Available for Interviews: Dr. Tammy Penhollow

Dr. Tammy Penhollow is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, specializing in anesthesiology, pain management, and regenerative medicine. Having over 20 years of experience has helped her to cultivate a passion for regenerative medicine and holistic healing. Dr. Penhollow practices at Precision Regenerative Medicine in the greater Phoenix area.

What Dr. Tammy Penhollow can say in an interview:       

As more and more workplaces continue to open and people return to the office from their remote working locations, US workers will have to maneuver the most common workplace dangers. Many of these dangers were present before the pandemic, but because of the absence from the workplace, workers will need to re-familiarize themselves with processes and protocols—and likely add in a few new protocols to allow them to remain safe.

1) Physical dangers include air quality and temperature and noise. In an environment that may have been closed off for many weeks, it’s important to ensure the building is maintained and that fans, filters, and cooling systems are functional. Additionally, more traffic and cars on the road means physical risks of driving and safely getting to and from work.

2) Biological dangers such as exposure to mold, viruses, bacteria, blood, and body fluids, and plants and animals in the work environment. Inspect a dormant worksite for insects, mold, rodents. Perform universal precautions for blood and body fluids if applicable. 

3) Chemical dangers include contact directly with the skin, ingestion, and inhalation of chemicals in the workplace. This can be amplified in the post COVID era, given the new standards that are in place to maintain cleanliness and the use of bleach and other industrial strength chemicals to disinfect throughout the day. Without adequate ventilation, inhalational chemical exposure and respiratory irritation can occur. Possible contact irritation can result from inadequate dry time between cleaning or from not using gloves to perform the cleaning, especially in already irritated skin and hands from the more frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer. 

4) Ergonomic dangers include any injury or strain from repetitive motion, slips and falls, posture and lifting. People need the right tools for doing their job and good body mechanics, too, as prevention plays the largest role in ergonomic economic dangers. Upon returning to the workplace, workers should adjust their monitors and chairs and take frequent stretch breaks as preventive measures. 

5) Psychosocial dangers include exposure to workplace violence, stress, and fear. Adjustment to new routines, changes to workflow (either a significant increase in work, i.e., clearing the backlogs, or slow ramp up), and financial stress (possible decreased resources—doing more with less in response to economic ramifications of the closures.  

Aside from the danger from possible exposure to COVID, returning to the workplace holds the same pre-pandemic inherent risks in several categories. Additional new risks from building closure and disuse, new disinfecting strategies, and financial stress of the emergency shutdown requires monitoring and vigilance to avoid injury as workers return.