The following is the Health and Illness Manual used at Skane Tax Solutions. It is shown below to be used as a guide.

HEALTH AND ILLNESS MANUAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

This manual is intended to address the issue of injury and illness prevention in the office. It is presented out of concern for your safety and in an effort to reduce the number of accident claims which are presented to Workers' Compensation carriers in California. It is mandated by law. Please report any dangerous condition observed by you to the responsible person listed below. Injury and illness prevention is everyone's concern.

After you have read the material in this manual and discussed it with the hiring authority, please sign the acknowledgment form presented to you so that we have a permanent record that each employee has had this training. Be sure to bring up any questions you may have before you do so.

It is our policy to provide a brochure concerning employees rights, benefits and obligations under the Workers' Compensation law. If our personnel manager overlooks doing so, please ask for it.

THE FIRST STEP

The first step in preventing injury in the workplace is to understand what hazards exist and to learn how to avoid accidents as a result of their presence.

In the office there are a few hazards which are common to this kind of environment: faulty chairs, filing cabinets, stairs, fire, cigarette or cigar smoke, bad traffic patterns. There are others which can be identified simply by becoming alert to their existence and taking appropriate steps to avoid injury.

The following sections will identify the danger each of the above hazards presents and offer suggestions for avoiding injury.

The prospect of illness as a result of office hazards is coming to light as medical opinions are delivered on the cause of some illnesses. The latter subjects of this manual will discuss some of them and how to lessen your risk of contracting them.

CHAIRS

The biggest villain in accidents in the office is the chair. Most secretarial chairs and executive chairs are on rollers and if one is not paying attention to the way in which one uses the chair, serious injury can result. The chair may be working as it should, yet be the cause of a fall or a twisted ankle or back simply because the person using it, in a careless moment, sits without looking at the position of the chair or using his/her hands to control its movement.

Faulty chairs can be another hazard. The pedestal upon which most office chairs are mounted has a useful life of approximately three years. Fractures can occur in the mountings and other areas which are under stress when the chair is in use. A thorough examination of your chair every six months or so is a good safety measure and takes only a few minutes. Promptly report any observed defect to your supervisor.

Another problem with chairs is the use of one which does not support your back and upper legs properly and cannot be adjusted to do so. Lower back pain is often the result of long hours of sitting in an improperly adjusted chair. When you are first assigned your work station, take the time to test the chair in its various adjusted positions and if it cannot be adjusted to a comfortable position for you, ask for a replacement.

FILING CABINETS

Filing cabinets cause injury when they are incorrectly used. Some have safety features which involve the automatic lock of the rest of the drawers when a first drawer is extended. Most do not.

A moment of care can save serious injury. Always observe the balance factor of the cabinet when you open one of the drawers. If you are using an upper drawer and you know that the lower drawers are empty or lightly weighted, do not extend the drawer to its full capacity without opening the bottom drawer to act as a safety catch should the cabinet start to fall forward.

Weights (such as telephone directories or other books) in bottom drawers that are not yet full of files is a good safety precaution.

If a file cabinet has files in all its drawers, never extend more than one drawer at a time. When a fully loaded file cabinet starts to fall forward, it is almost impossible to stop.

Never leave an open file cabinet unattended. It presents a hazard to your co-workers who may come around a blind corner and walk into it. Lower drawers are particularly hazardous.

STAIRS

Some offices require the use of stairs to move from one part of the office to another. The use of elevators is sometimes foregone by people who seek exercise by using the stairs. During fire drills or an actual fire, stair use is a must.

The women workers in the office are subject to a higher risk because of the standard of dress which usually mandates the wearing of shoes with high heels. A moment of inattention can cause serious injury. In addition, there are often hazards on the stairs themselves, such as carpet or rubber or plastic mats which can become worn and unsafe.

Always report any such hazard which you observe to your supervisor.

A wise precaution is to bring athletic shoes with you to the office and wear them in the event you must use stairs, either for a fire drill, because there is no elevator, or because you prefer the stairs to the elevator.

Exercising extra caution and alertness when using stairs is the best way to guard against injury.

If you wear eyeglasses which cause distortion of distance, remove them when walking down the stairs.

Always use the handrail when going up or down stairs.

FIRE

Fire in offices is unusual but we can all think of instances when massive office buildings have burned and many people injured.

One of the chief causes of fire in an office is careless disposal of cigarettes, closely followed by faulty wiring or defective kitchen appliances.

Most fires are discovered before they become a major hazard and extinguished. For this reason it is vital that you know where the fire extinguisher in your office is kept and that you receive instruction on its use.

The person in charge of the safety program in your office has the responsibility of showing you where the fire extinguisher is and instructing you on its use. If this is not done within the first week of your employment, ask to have it done.

Should you find yourself in the position of having to extinguish a fire, remember to keep a safe distance from the flames when you are using the extinguisher. Clothing can catch fire from heat or from a spark.

Immediately report any item or activity which presents a fire hazard to your supervisor. Ultimately, each person in the office is responsible for fire prevention.

CIGARETTE OR CIGAR SMOKE

There is now no doubt that smoke ingested from other people's cigarettes is just as dangerous to you as if you were the smoker.

Most offices either prohibit smoking in the office or have a designated smoking area.

The designated smoking area, if there is one, should be well away from the office activities and not in a room which is necessary to the other people on the staff. Proper precautions as to the disposal of cigarettes in a fire-proof receptacle is a must.

Do not hesitate to report to your supervisor any instance of smoking in forbidden areas. This is not a matter of courtesy, but of very real danger to you and your co-workers.

If you are a smoker, the hazard to your health is well known to you, but you must also consider the danger to others. Smoking in an enclosed area, such as a restroom, does not decrease the danger. If anything, it increases it. The small enclosure creates a higher concentration of smoke, and the paper products in the area make it a fire hazard.

If you are a smoker, take your habit outside.

BAD TRAFFIC PATTERNS

It is a surprise to no one that furniture poorly arranged is an office hazard. However, it is one of the most difficult things to change once it is established.

Observe how the traffic patterns in your office, both the private offices and the shared spaces contribute to danger of injury.

A plant placed so that it creates a "blind corner" is an often overlooked hazard.

A desk placed so that an open drawer would act as a barrier as you move from your desk to the door of your office is a "snake waiting to bite."

Tile in the restrooms which cannot be avoided and is slippery when wet is another danger.

An isle between desks which is too narrow for easy passage presents the possibility of tripping over chair bases and other hidden obstacles.

A traffic pattern which requires the worker to step over electric cords or floor outlets is "an accident waiting to happen."

Be alert to these hazards and make suggestions to your supervisor to alleviate them.

CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

This is a condition affecting the hands and wrists. Symptoms are weakness, tingling, numbness in the fingers and/or pain in the wrist and forearm.

While this condition has received more public notice lately because it is showing up in people who spend long, uninterrupted hours at a keyboard, medical evidence suggests that it is relatively easy to prevent.

Once the condition is present, most sufferers recover in six to eight weeks without surgery and do not have to lose work time during treatment. In extreme cases, surgery is indicated and there are new methods which are being praised by patients who have had the surgery. Recovery time is minimal.

Some of the office supply stores are now advertising a pad which goes on the front of the keyboard or typewriter to force the typist to keep his/her wrists level. The condition seems to either be caused or aggravated by letting the wrists droop rather than holding them straight in correct typing position.

In addition, a chair which is at the correct height, so that the elbows are even with the keyboard and the forearm can be kept level during typing is necessary as a precaution.

The use of a "mouse" attachment to the computer increases the risk. Some manufacturers are revamping their line to include mice for different sized hands or for different fingers; some models are designed so the thumb does the clicking, thus putting less strain on the wrist.

As with other muscles which are used repeatedly during the day, the best prevention is to stop every so often and walk around. Swing the arms back and forth as in normal walking and gently shake the hands to increase circulation. Stretch shoulder muscles by wrapping arms around yourself and pushing elbows forward.

BACK, NECK AND SHOULDER PROBLEMS

Sitting in one position for a long time is the major culprit with back problems, since this causes back muscles to stiffen. Typical workday tension can lodge in back, neck and shoulder muscles, predisposing them to aching spasm.

The most obvious antidote is to get up and move around--a couple of times an hour if you can.

Taking a short walk is even better, because it takes pressure off ligaments that have been forced to hold a single position.

If you tend to be tied to your desk, however, you may want to invest in an ergonomically designed office chair, custom-made to support the length of your back comfortably, and take it with you wherever you are stationed. These are custom-made to support the length of your back comfortably. Another option: a lower-back-supporter pillow.

If you suffer from neck and shoulder strain because you're frequently on the phone--especially if you hold the receiver in the crook of your neck--consider getting a speaker phone or a phone cradle, which allows you to keep your head upright even while writing.

Certainly the best preventive strategy for back trouble is a regular exercise program that focuses on strengthening the spine-supporting muscles.

There are stretches you can do in the office to help relieve some of the pain and tension. Consider trying the following when you feel a twinge, just a few repetitions of each:

• Forward Bend: Sit at the edge of your chair with feet apart on the floor. Drop your head and slowly curl your spine forward until your head is between your knees. Take a few deep breaths and slowly roll back.
• Shoulder Stretch: Stand straight. Clasp your hands behind your back and raise them toward the ceiling--as far as you comfortably can. Lower and return your arms to your sides.
• Neck Rolls: Drop your chin to your chest and slowly roll your head in a continuous semicircle from one shoulder to the other (Do not drop head back).
• Lower-back Relaxer: (You'll want to close the door for this one.) Lie on the floor on your back and bring your knees up to your chest for several seconds.