Hello, dear readers. We at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley
hope you had an enjoyable (and safe) Fourth of July weekend. This week, our
blog is something of a recap of one that was posted this
past March, and deals with eye safety in the workplace.
Why, you may be asking, would this blog cover (or review)
eye safety…and at work, for that matter? Well, some of you may have the luxury
of what is known as “summer hours,” meaning that you can cut out early on a
Friday once in a while. Or, summer is when you are planning to take some
vacation time. And, to any of our younger readers (i.e., high school or college
age) who may hold down a summer job, reading about work when you’re away from
work is the last thing you want to do. Well, the examples listed above (and
they are only a few among many) are exactly why this Site for Sore Eyes
Berkeley blog wants to address eye safety in the workplace – yet again.
Maybe it’s the heat (yes, it is rarely cold in California,
but still…), or the spike in vacationing, but the summer season has, generally
speaking, been a time where a feeling of casualness sets in among many people.
Yes, we still go to our jobs, we do what we have to – but there is not the
same sense of urgency that we feel during the rest of the year. Casualness,
however, can translate to laziness…and this means we are not on our guard. And
we’re not talking about job performance…we are talking about health
(specifically, eye health).
March is recognized as “Workplace Eye Wellness Month.” To
complement this, July is recognized as “Eye Injury Prevention
Month,” which was covered in last week’s blog. The wording may be
different, but the message is the same – don’t leave the safety of your eyes to
chance. Please excuse these scary statistics, but it has been reported that
approximately 2,000 eye injuries occur every day, half of which happen in the
workplace. Those who have “blue-collar” jobs (i.e., factory or labor) are at
risk because of any unforeseen accidents that result in falling or flying
objects, sparks, glass, or other matter. And, for those who are employed in a
“white-collar” work setting (i.e., office or professional), reading small type,
combined with staring at a computer screen – for hours on end – can take a more
subtle (but no less harmful) toll on their eyesight.
The safeguards against eye injury in the workplace have been
listed before, but a brief refresher never hurts. Those employed in the
“blue-collar” environments should always have safety glasses or goggles on
hand, and be ready to put them on in an instant. The “white-collar” workers
should make a conscious effort to look away from their computers after 20
minutes, and focus their vision on an object 20 feet away for a period of 20
seconds. (The operative number here is 20.) At last, but not least, the biggest
favor that everyone from every career path can do for themselves is to have
their eyes checked on a yearly basis. (Do you find yourself with some free time
during the summer? Then you can make an appointment for an eye exam.)
Did any of this sound familiar? If so, good…that means that
our blog in March made an impression and that you take your eye health
seriously. Sorry for the repetition, but eye safety in the work place deserves
repeating.
Thanks for reading. Keep your sites on
healthy vision. And enjoy the second half of the summer!
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