Work injuries amount to a massive loss of time and money every year to both employers and workers. That’s why every August, OSHA holds the nationwide Safe + Sound Week to promote workplace health and safety programs. This year’s event takes place the week of August 7-13, 2023, and will focus on supporting mental health and well-being in the workplace. 

Why Participate?

Work injury and illness can be debilitating to an organization: losses from work injuries in 2021 totaled $167 billion, plus 103 million days of lost time; work illness and working while sick causes annual losses of $150 billion or more. A healthy workplace starts with a well-designed health and safety program that can identify potential workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness. Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help an organization develop or improve theirs, as well as share best practices, challenges, and successes that can teach and inspire other organizations.

Safe + Sound Week isn’t just for employers! We can all contribute to a safer workplace. Workplace health and safety programs get stronger with active investment from workers, who can contribute unique viewpoints and experience as well as support each other. Lost time from work injuries and illness can represent lost wages, and it can also occur simultaneously as an increase in medical costs. A safer workplace is more productive, and it also leads to better health outcomes for employees.

Who Participates?

Any organization with a commitment to health and safety can be part of Safe + Sound Week. Last year’s event had over 3,300 participating businesses.

This Year’s Theme: Workplace Stress and Mental Health Resources

This year’s Safe + Sound theme, providing resources for mental health management and stress reduction, comes at a time where workers have faced unprecedented levels of upheaval and insecurity. Over 80% of workers report experiencing workplace stress, and over 50% report that stress has negatively impacted their home life. This also represents an opportunity: the workplace makes for an effective hub for supporting mental health and accessing mental health resources.

How to Participate

OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week web portal is a great place to learn more about the celebration. There you’ll find useful tools like workplace health and safety information, guides to developing and improving your workplace program, toolkits for planning and promoting events, and links to webinars and local training courses that may benefit your organization. Hundreds of events are already happening around the country!

Everyone has the right to a healthy workplace, and workplace health outcomes get stronger with increased support from everyone involved. Safe + Sound Week is about recognizing the amount of work organizations do to become healthier and promoting the practices that make employees safe.