May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Take time this month – and all year round – to promote awareness of worker well-being.

OSHA’s “Safe Workplace Good Headspace” initiative highlights ways employers can make a difference.

Rewarding employees with pizza may be a popular way to celebrate a workplace success, but it isn’t exactly the healthiest choice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says employers should “encourage healthier food and beverage choices at workplace meetings, conferences, parties and other events.”

Carpet layers spend approximately 75 percent of their workday kneeling, according to NIOSH estimates, putting a significant amount of pressure on their knees. Compared with workers who rarely kneel, NIOSH found that carpet layers have high frequencies of bursitis of the knee – fluid buildup requiring knee aspirations, skin infections of the knee and a variety of other knee disorders.

Do you sit at a desk for hours at a time for work? Do you ever feel sore, experience back or neck pain, or have pain in your fingers? If so, you may not be practicing proper ergonomics.

Menlo Park, CA — Thirty-four percent of employees say they’re more burned out than they were a year ago, according to the results of a recent survey developed by global staffing firm Robert Half.

Lansing, MI — Michigan OSHA has launched a state emphasis program focused on protecting workers in office settings, where community spread of COVID-19 is a risk.

Washington — About two-thirds of employees say they’ve observed co-workers vaping, while a nearly equal amount believe the secondhand vapors from e-cigarettes and other vaping devices are at least moderately harmful to their own health, according to the results of a recent survey.

Chicago — Although a growing number of employers are purchasing air purifiers as part of reopening their workplaces amid the COVID-19 pandemic, one type of the technology might not be as effective as advertised, results of a recent study show.

Philadelphia — A vast majority of employees who are returning to the workplace after working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic say they plan to continue practicing elevated hygiene amid concerns over the cleanliness of their offices and being around colleagues again, according to the results of a recent survey commissioned by hygiene and health company Essity.

Washington — Employees’ satisfaction with physical safety conditions in the workplace has returned to levels that predate the COVID-19 pandemic, results of an annual survey indicate.

Boston — Improved air quality in offices can boost worker focus, response times and overall cognitive ability, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health claim.

Ljubljana, Slovenia — Work intensity is the most commonly identified risk factor for daily stress on the job, European researchers have concluded after conducting a research review.

Cologne, Germany — Workers who engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors and encourage their colleagues to do the same can help create a more healthful workplace, results of recent study show.

Atlanta – Lead exposure remains an issue for workers, with elevated levels most common in manufacturing, construction, services and mining, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Washington — OSHA is requesting public comment on a proposed rule that would revise the agency’s standards on occupational exposure to lead in general industry and construction.

Washington — In response to multiple stakeholder requests, OSHA has extended until Oct. 28 the comment period on a proposed rule that would revise the agency’s standards on occupational exposure to lead in general industry and construction.

“Arc Flash Electrical Safety,” a nine-module online course series, is a convenient and affordable self-paced course designed to help individuals who may otherwise find it difficult to attend classes through a more traditional method.

The Luffing Tower Crane Training Pack is the first simulation-based LTC training platform on the market.

Histoplasmosis is a non-contagious, non-transmittable infectious disease caused by inhaling the spores of a fungus.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – more commonly known as MRSA – is a potentially dangerous type of staph bacteria that can lead to difficult-to-treat infections. MRSA is resistant to certain antibiotics and, although an infection may begin as a skin sore, it can become serious and potentially deadly, NIOSH warns.

COVID-19 has changed the way we all work. Some of us never stopped physically going to work, while others have been working remotely since mid-March. No matter where we are, working during a pandemic has added stress to our daily lives.

More than 300. That’s how many known triggers can be found in the workplace that cause or worsen asthma, according to NIOSH. 

Many workers have been diagnosed with some form of lung condition, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which means working in a lung-friendly workplace is key.

Pregnancy increases the risk of heatstroke or heat exhaustion on the job because the body must work harder to cool itself, according to OSHA. Pregnant workers are also more likely to become dehydrated, “a primary contributor to heat-related illness.”

Also known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, black lung is a “job-related disease caused by continued exposure to excessive amounts of respirable coal mine dust,” NIOSH says.

Why does the high-visibility standard have FR requirements?

With the workforce becoming so much more versatile, are there different types of safety eyeglasses recommended for different kinds of work environments?

A white paper from Lehigh explains the Compound Effect Solution to Plantar Fasciitis – how to give your employees the 1-2-3 punch, providing the best-fitting approved footwear, along with custom orthotics and medical-grade compression socks.

Is safety tracking software the name of the game for new technology designed for plant safety?

Washington — A companion bill to the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1195), passed by the House in April 2021, has been introduced in the Senate.

Durham, NC — The rates of “moral injury” that health care workers experienced during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic was akin to those of U.S. military combat veterans, results of a recent study show.

North Kingstown, RI — More than 4 out of 5 health care workers experience headaches associated with the use of personal protective equipment, according to a new report from the Association of Migraine Disorders.

Silver Spring, MD — Around 7 out of 10 recently surveyed nurses say staffing has gotten slightly or much worse recently, while nearly half of hospital nurses report an increase in workplace violence.

Columbus, OH — Legislation recently introduced in the Ohio Statehouse would direct health care employers to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan within six months.

Washington — The National Academy of Medicine has unveiled seven priorities it says will help strengthen the well-being of the health care workforce and “restore the health of the nation.”

Schaumburg, IL — The Emergency Nurses Association and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership have updated their Guiding Principles on Mitigating Violence in the Workplace and related toolkit.

Washington — NIOSH has added all types of uterine cancer to the list of health-related conditions covered by the agency’s World Trade Center Health Program.

Tallahassee, FL — Legislation in Florida that would strengthen criminal penalties for assault or battery on hospital workers has advanced out of two Senate committees.

Washington — Newly introduced legislation would direct OSHA to issue a standard requiring employers in the health care and social services sector to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency wants feedback as it considers a training program for health care providers on recognizing, treating and reporting pesticide-related illnesses and injuries.

Bozeman, MT — Industries in which workers are prone to sleep loss should develop and adopt policies that prioritize sleep to ensure better daytime function and well-being, researchers say.

Salem, OR — Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in Oregon would strengthen the penalty for assaulting a hospital worker and require hospitals to work harder on preventing violence.

Boston — Intended to give small health care employers an “easy-to-use format” for a written exposure control plan, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has published sample written plans for a respiratory protection program and bloodborne pathogen exposure control.

The CU-ARC-5 Arc Flash Kit features a center weight positioning visor bracket that balances and distributes the weight of the shield evenly for extreme thermal energy conditions.

Annapolis, MD — Legislation recently introduced in Maryland would allow multiple speed cameras in work zones and raise fines for speeding offenses.

Washington — Prompted by the death of a worker whose fall protection lanyard was severed by an exposed edge as he fell, OSHA has issued a hazard alert.

Toronto — The Infrastructure Health and Safety Association has published a guide on reducing the risk of struck-by incidents in the workplace.

East Lansing, MI — Falls involving portable ladders caused 84 on-the-job deaths from 2001 to 2021 in Michigan, prompting a new hazard alert from Michigan State University.

Waltham, MA — The higher outdoor temperatures climb, the more likely it is that a worker will be injured, according to a recent study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute.