“Off-the-job” injuries involve employed people when they are not working. For example, a restaurant cook cuts his hand on a knife while fixing dinner at home or a truck driver who slides off an icy road while driving his car to work, hits a tree, and suffers a sprained wrist. Those injuries occurred off-the-job.

If similar injuries occurred while in the restaurant or driving a truck, they would be on-the-job injuries. If the cook and the truck driver are retired, then the injuries are neither on-the-job or off-the-job because they are not employed. These are classified as non-work injuries.

Off-the-job injuries are a concern to employers because National Safety Council (NSC) statistics show that for each on-the-job death due to unintentional injuries there are about 12 off-the-job deaths of workers due to unintentional injuries. Additionally, for each on-the-job injury involving lost time there are about three off-the-job injuries.

There are about six times as many days lost from work due to off-the-job injuries as for on-the-job. Employers have to deal with the same disruptions to production and work schedules whether the injury occurred at work or away from work.

Safe Plan of Action: Always conduct a safety evaluation of the activity and determine the proper eyewear and PPE, then follow through with a safe plan of action and PPE use.