Injuries Nearly Vanish After Workers Find Their Voice

After a colleague suffered a severe repetitive stress injury, members of a Southern California Ambulatory Pharmacy team developed a rounding program. With training and support from an ergonomist, colleagues round on colleagues, checking in with every employee every month. Initially, team members conducted the rounding sessions without managers, worried that workers wouldn’t feel safe speaking up. But as managers acted on employees’ concerns, the fears dissipated. Now union-represented workers round side by side with managers, who are key to instituting changes. 

Here's What Worked

• Training staff members to be Level 1 ergonomic assessors
• Colleagues rounding on each other every month
• Acting on employees’ concerns by making changes to workstations  

What can your team do to support each other's concerns? What else could your team do to follow up on issues?