There are common hazards that exist in the Office and Business Industry. It is important to learn about these hazards and how to work safely in these environments. Within this industry you may be involved in a range of work activities such as dealing with cash records and petty cash, mail, records and banking procedures, writing, typing and photocopying. Hazard identification is a key step in preventing injury and disease in the workplace. Where there's a risk, you need to stop and think. You need to think about what you are about to do the potential risks and the likely effects on yourself and other people.

• 1. Spot the Hazard.
Be alert at work! Notice potential hazards and work out what the problem is.
• 2. Assess the Risk
Talk to your supervisor about the hazard and work out a way to solve the problem.
• 3. Make the Changes
Follow through. Carry out the agreed actions in order to solve the problem.

A person who works in an office would not be exposed to as many hazards as someone who works in a factory. However, unlike a factory worker, an office worker must sit for long periods. Adopting the correct posture is very important. When office workers just used typewriters, calculators and pens and pencils to do jobs, it was fairly easy to arrange things on the desk so that the worker could sit properly. When computers are involved it is not so easy. The office worker must:

• Look at the screen.
• Look at the documents you must read from.
• Use the keyboard.
• Look at the keyboard (if necessary)
• Use a mouse.
• Use a telephone.
• Sit using the correct posture.

To help you sit using the correct posture your employer should provide:

• A desk that is big enough to reach all the things you need without over-reaching or twisting. If you use a computer the desk should be at least 90 cm deep to enable you to look at the screen from a comfortable distance.
• A chair that provides good back support and which can be easily adjusted to a correct working height. This usually means adjusting the height of the chair so that your elbows are at the same height as the home row of keys on the keyboard.
• A footstool, if your feet cannot rest comfortably on the floor when the chair is at the proper height.

Placing boxes and other items on shelves, painting, gardening, cleaning, writing and typing are examples of manual handling tasks.

• Strains and sprains.
• Neck and back injury.
• Slips, falls and crush incidents.
• Cuts, bruises and broken bones.
• Hernia.
• Strained heart muscles.
• Occupational overuse syndrome (OOS).

If you are a young worker, you are more likely to be injured through manual handling work than an older worker is, as your body is still developing and is less able to cope with strain. This, however, does not reduce the risk to the older worker.

• Safe manual handling methods.
• Specific manual handling hazards.
• Safe work procedures.
• Use of manual handling aids.
• the right to ask for assistance.

Manual handling injuries to workers can be prevented by instruction, training and supervision. Safe work procedures should be prepared by employers, in conjunction with employees, to care for the special needs of inexperienced workers. Even though you are a worker new to the job, you have the responsibility to speak up if you feel your job is too heavy, too difficult, too tiring or puts you at risk of injury. Ways to Reduce the Risk:

• Lighten loads( break loads into smaller quantities).
• Reduce bending, twisting, reaching movements.
• Prevent muscle strain and fatigue, including warming up before working, allocating time for rest breaks, and allowing time to gradually get used to a new job.

Relatively low noise levels, such as those in offices, typically average between 40 and 75dB(A) over an 8 hour period. These noise levels depend on the interior construction and the activities carried out. Under these conditions, low levels of noise are not capable of causing noise induced hearing loss. However, they are capable of causing stress and other adverse health effects. People may experience noise related stress factors as:

• Irritability, headaches, moodiness and insomnia.
• Loss of concentration.
• Speech interference.

The body will try to cope with the situation but when no relief is in sight then more serious health affects may occur, such as:

• Raised blood pressure and heart rate.
• Reduced immune response.
• Gastric ulcers.

This in turn may result in:

• Increased absenteeism.
• Reduced productivity.
• Reduced quality of work/product/service.
• Reduced ability to communicate - eg telephone conversations due to speech and understanding spoken words interference.

Telephone operators wearing headsets should be particularly aware of sudden loud shrieks, for instance, sending faxes over telephone lines or other electrical causes. Your host employer should have a policy for handling and follow up of such incidents, which should include hearing tests and rest periods for the affected ear. The Workplace Health and Safety (Noise) Advisory Standard indicates that where noise levels fall in the range of 65 to 85dB (A) as average over an 8 hour period and workers, indicated this to be a problem, the noise should be assessed and control measures implemented where it is shown that a risk exists. Many offices are "open plan" with large numbers of people talking, telephones ringing, and printers and photocopiers operating. The noise level is not likely to be high enough to cause any kind of damage to your hearing, but it may affect your concentration and ability to hear others in phone or face to face conversations. Your host employer should attempt to reduce the noise as much as possible. Acoustic ceilings and wall linings, carpets and barriers in addition to acoustic hoods on printers are all effective in lowering the noise level in an office. When someone loses their hearing, it can be devastating for themselves and annoying for others around them. People with poor hearing are often left out of conversations and social activities. Hearing loss can also cause people to become less efficient at work and study.

• Ringing in the ears after a noisy activity.
• Having difficulty understanding what people say.
• Needing to turn the volume up to hear the radio or television when others appear to hear adequately.
• Failing to hear background noises such as a ringing telephone or doorbell.

It is the responsibility of your host employer to provide the correct personal hearing protectors. Personal hearing protectors (earmuffs and earplugs) should be used as a temporary measure or last resort. Hearing protectors should be regularly cleaned and maintained. Worn or damaged parts should be replaced and protectors kept near the area of noisy activity. Headphones for radios and tape recorders do not provide good protection from noise. People do not become "used" to noise. It only seems that way because of hearing loss.

When someone loses their hearing, it can be devastating for themselves and annoying for others around them. People with poor hearing are often left out of conversations and social activities. Hearing loss can also cause people to become less efficient at work and study.

OOS was previously referred to as Repetitive Strain Injury or RSI. OOS affects parts of the body that are used in work activities that involve one or more of the following:

• Frequent or repetitive movements (such as operating keyboards for long periods)
• Forceful movements (such as using a punch or stamp)
• Postures that are held for long periods (such as looking at a computer screen that is too high, holding your head at an angle to see past glare on a screen or reaching for an incorrectly positioned keyboard)

Make sure that employees performing repetitive work are given adequate breaks away from the repetitive task (5 minutes every 30 minutes or 10 minutes every hour is recommended) or are given a combination of repetitive and non-repetitive jobs (eg a mix of keyboard tasks and delivering mail) Make sure that employees such as keyboard operators are not overloaded with work or forced to meet unrealistic deadlines. Providing appropriate furniture and equipment so that employees use the correct posture. Ensure that employees are given adequate training in how to use the equipment properly and the correct adjustment of the furniture.

• Arrange your work area to ensure all materials, equipment and controls can be easily reached without stretching or twisting.
• Check your posture before commencing working and adjust your furniture to enable you to maintain a good forward facing posture while keying
• Start keyboard work slowly each day to warm up to the task and cool down by reducing your keystroke rate at the end of the day.
• Never accumulate work breaks.
• Report breakdowns or malfunctions of your equipment or furniture immediately to your supervisor.

Slippery floors in the workplace are a serious hazard and can result in far more serious accidents than simply slipping and falling over. It is a requirement that floors should be slip-resistant, but floors can become slippery when liquid, grease, food, or other substances are spilt on them, or while being washed. Objects such as boxes, cartons, bins and furniture are placed in areas where people are moving around can pose hazards. You could trip, stumble or bump into something, resulting in an injury, or objects could fall on you or others when you are near them. Ways to reduce the risk:

• Regular cleaning of floors is necessary to maintain a safe surface.
• Use of polishes and cleaning agents that produce the maximum natural traction of the floor surface.
• Extension cords should never be placed across walk ways.
• Learn the procedures for cleaning up spilt substances and removing objects that are a risk to people..

In case of an emergency, it is vital that all employees know the workplace's emergency evacuation procedures. It is also preferable that you have practised the procedure by participating in emergency evacuation drills. As part of induction, you should be advised of the location of emergency exits, first aid facilities and any trained first aiders, location of the fire extinguishers and emergency contact phone numbers.

Adequate ventilation is essential not only where photocopiers are located, but throughout the office environment to provide fresh air. The use of synthetic materials in the construction and furnishing of buildings, emissions from equipment, and sealed buildings with refrigerated air conditioning contribute to work place hazards associated with ventilation. Common chemicals emitted from office furnishings include formaldehyde from particleboard furniture, xylene from glues and adhesives and 4 phenyl cyclohexane from new carpet backing.