People use their hands regularly in the great majority of jobs, making it all the more crucial to ensure that they are protected from harm by wearing the right work gloves. Negative impacts that employees can endure if they suffer a serious hand injury at work can include the likes of a limited range of motion as well as loss of grip and dexterity.
The reality is that wearing the right work gloves can actually prevent the majority of injuries to hands and fingers.
Why you should wear the right work gloves
The right gloves can help to protect employees who have to work with chemicals and other biohazards. Any job that involves chemicals carries with it the risk of chemical burns as well as other injuries, and it takes just one mistake to have serious and potentially life-altering consequences.
It is therefore vital to wear the right work gloves to protect hands from being exposed to dangerous chemicals and other hazardous materials and thereby greatly cutting down on the risk of contamination and injury.
Common injuries
Common injuries that happen in many different workplaces in a variety of industries are cuts and abrasions as well as punctures. It is essential for the safety of workers for them to wear reliable protection for their hands when they are completing tasks.
There is a wide array of safety work gloves available that offer varying levels of protection from these injuries. Low risk applications can have adequate protection provided with the use of thin disposable gloves, while high risk applications will require superior protection in the form of heavy duty cut-resistant work gloves.
Impact injuries
Impact injuries can happen to hands, particularly in jobs that require the use of a hammer or the movement of heavy objects or that need work to be performed on mechanical vehicles.
Any job with such a risk of hands being hit or crushed by objects, supplies or tools necessitate workers wearing high quality impact-resistant work gloves.
These work gloves offer protection to fingers and hands as they soften the blow by absorbing and then dissipating the impact away from the worker’s hands.
Arc and heat hazards
Industries in which employees are required to work with arc or heat like welding pose major risks to hands, and there are specially designed work gloves for these professions that create a protective barrier to prevent hazards from being able to penetrate the hand, thus preventing burns.
Protection against temperature and weather
Skin and muscle tissue can be temporarily or even permanently damaged by cold temperatures, so those who have to work in a cold environment such as the likes of cold storage need to wear work gloves that can offer adequate insulation and are capable of holding in the warmth around hands.
Exterior environments that are cold and wet also require the right work gloves in order to maintain warmth and keep moisture from the hands. When working in the elements the right work gloves can also provide extra layers of grip.
Make sure you choose the right work glove for you depending on the potential hazards in your workplace.
