Study Backs Usefulness of First Aid Cabinets
"The increasing number of absences due to employee illness further makes the case for on-site first aid kits or cabinets in the workplace," said John Amann, Cintas Corporation's senior director of operations.
An independent study conducted for Cintas Corporation supports the usefulness of first aid cabinets in workplaces as a productivity tool, the Cincinnati-based company announced this week. The telephone survey of more than 400 U.S. adults indicatedt 68 percent of those surveyed said they would be more productive at work if provided access to a first aid kit or cabinet. The survey was conducted in March by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Cintas.
"The increasing number of absences due to employee illness further makes the case for on-site first aid kits or cabinets in the workplace," said John Amann, Cintas' senior director of operations. "Ensuring that employees are equipped with the first aid supplies necessary to combat minor illness and injury in the workplace is essential to maximizing productivity and reducing costs for businesses."
Survey results included these:
- 88 percent of those surveyed agreed employers should be required to provide a first aid kit or cabinet at each office or workplace
- 74 percent of employed adults think employers should be required to provide at least one at each work site
The common cold is the leading cause of missed workdays, resulting in an average loss of 8.7 work hours per cold episode, according to Cintas, which cited the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine for the estimated economic cost of lost business productivity due to the common cold as approaching $25 billion, most of which is attributed to on-the-job productivity loss.
The survey's data collection was done by telephone within the United States from March 31 to April 3 among 431 adults ages 18 and older who are employed full time or part time. Results were weighted for age, sex, geographic region, and race where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population, according to Cintas.
For information about Cintas' first aid and safety programs, visit www.cintasfirstaid.com.