How Can the Hotel Industry Reduce Injuries to Housekeepers?

Photo of a medical bill

According to a report by Hotel Workers Rising (HWR), “hotel workers are 48 percent more likely to be injured on the job than the typical worker in the service sector.” Additionally, hotel workers face higher rates of serious injuries than any other service sector.

A study conducted by the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) concluded two things about the injury risk for housekeepers:

• Housekeepers have to clean bathrooms and lift beds at fast speeds, which puts them at a higher risk for serious injury.
• To reduce injury, the hotel industry needs to slow the pace of work and decrease the amount of work.

The UCSF study found that 75 percent of housekeepers experienced work-related pain. The pain was so great for the hotel workers that 73 percent visited a doctor and over half had to take time off work.

HWR says that hotel management organizes the work on a “room quota system.” This means that housekeepers have to clean a certain number of rooms every day. The more rooms a housekeeper has to clean, the faster they have to work.

Many hotels keep the housekeepers understaffed, which puts additional pressures on the existing staff to work even faster and harder. This has forced the housekeepers to skip meals and breaks. Rest periods are necessary to prevent injury, but the workload is not allowing them to get those breaks.

Moreover, housekeepers frequently deal with industrial cleaners that can cause skin rashes and irritate the eyes. In one survey, 72 percent of housekeepers said that chemical irritation was the third biggest workplace problem.

Find an Austin Workers Comp Lawyer

If you have been injured while on the job you need to obtain a law firm that specializes in workers’ compensation.

The Law Offices of Aaron Allison – Austin Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Source: http://www.hotelworkersrising.org/pdf/Injury_Paper.pdf