It’s 2016 and things are a’changin—including the workplace.
“Treadmill desks. Bouncy ball chairs. Tablets on public transit. Wi-fi on airplanes. Our workplace is more mobile than ever.”
Welcome to Workplace 2.0.
Traveler’s Insurance has deemed Workplace 2.0 as, well, anywhere and anyway in which you work. The idea applies to the new ways technology and mobility have changed the who, what, when, where and why’s of how we work.
For example, here are just a few situations and their added risks you may find in Workplace 2.0:
- Perhaps your boss or coworker brings their dog to work.
- Risk: Allergies, bites, broken equipment or torn furniture.
- Perhaps you work at a standing desk.
- Risk: Joints are not meant to be in the “locked” position all day and can take a toll on your body.
- Perhaps the break room has a rock wall built in.
- Risk: Lots! Broken bones and more.
While it may be deemed less professional, this is the new way of working. Every day, as employees retire or leave, a younger, 2.0-er is taking their place and they like being comfortable. Hence, the beanie bags in their office.
Workplace 1.0 is the conventional office, with desktops and rolling chairs. Where the break room is where you eat and read magazines, not where you rock climb on your break or sleep in the hammock the boss recently installed.
And despite all the modern mobility and differences in the workplace that come with it, we are more sedentary than ever. With that, we’re still fighting all the usual workplace claims and more.
Of course, many of today’s employees are still rolling around in good ‘ole cubicles with desktop computers. But they’re just as likely to be clocking in at a craft brewery, a food truck, or a gluten-free bakery. The next generation of small business is facing an uncharted landscape of atypical environments, each presenting its own unique workers’ compensation challenges.
As a business owner, it’s important to educate yourself on the risks the job positions your business offers.
What’s more important is making sure your employees are aware of the “little things” they do that later can lead up to a claim.
Interested in everything Traveler’s has found as potential risks in Workplace 2.0? Check it out now.
