Knowing your rights as a worker is very important. As young workers, we are at a higher risk of getting injured while working. Here are some fun stats about injuries in young workers.

26 young workers are injured every working day.

1 out of every 24 young men are injured.

One young worker is injured every hour.

In these last few classes, we’ve been learning about the risks that could impact us. Different occupations would have different risk factors. Construction jobs would have different risks than  a job in a kitchen. Both have many different risk factors. 

To show some of the risks, I made a little graphic using Sketches Pro. In this graphic, there are two young workers, and one supervisor. 

You may have seen some issues with this picture, though I’ll take some time to take you through them. The first issue is that the young workers have gear that doesn’t fit them. This could be a huge risk factor, because the exact thing that is supposed to be protecting them could be harmful. Having shoes that don’t fit could make it more likely to trip, and have a severe fall. This would be extremely bad for one of the young workers, who is up on a platform, higher than three meters, without a railing or rigging. A fall from this height could be really detrimental to the young worker. 

And finally, probably the most obvious one, is the giant spill on the floor. It may not be obvious, but it is bodily waste, specifically vomit. This young worker does not have the training to deal with this mess, but still, their supervisor wants them to clean it up. As a young worker, you are eager to please your supervisor. From my experience in the workplace, if my supervisor told me to do something, I would most probably do it. But this specific instance is unsafe. Yo7 don’t know what that vomit could contain, and you could get sick. As much as you want to please, your first duty is to yourself.