Evaluating Basic Safety Equipment: How Good Are Your Shoes?

When we hear about personal protective equipment, usually what comes to mind is the safety gear like hard hats, helmets, goggles, and masks workers wear on the job to protect their bodies from work injuries. Safety gear not only entails the additional accessories required on a job site but also the basics.

Chronic pain is a common work-related injury that employees in many industries experience simply from doing their jobs and walking around the job site. Many leg, foot, and ankle injuries are caused by trips, falls, slips, and physically walking into objects on the work site.

One reason these injuries occur is because workers are not employing the right type of footwear when working in different environments and situations. There are some companies that do require steel-toed boots or other specified foot wear but for those who do not establish any guidelines, employees may be subjected to injury simply because they fail to wear the right shoes.

Consider what you do each day and if the footwear you choose is, in fact, going to be safe. Even for office jobs, it is important to have skid-resistant, slip-resistant shoes to prevent accidents while walking. When inclement weather hits, even if you don't work outside, you should be prepared with the proper footwear to prevent simple slip and fall work injuries.

It is these simple slips and falls due to insufficient footwear that cause workers lifelong pain and medical costs. If the wrong pair of shoes can put you out of work for the long-haul, you need to consider your options and practice your own personal safety checks even if your employer has nothing definitive.