Download or read book Safety Practices, Firm Culture, and Workplace Injuries written by Richard J. Butler and published by W.E. Upjohn Institute. This book was released on 2005 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation Workers' Compensation insurance, which covers all medical expenses and part of the lost wages associated with injuries, cost employers $63.9 billion in 2001 (National Academy of Social Insurance, 2004). The indirect costs of accidents lost wages, damage to equipment, training and rehabilitation expenses are several times this amount. On the job injury costs are an important component of the firm's operating expenses. Human resource management can change workers' incentives to take more care on the job (accident prevention), improve workers' incentives to return to work following an accident (loss reduction), and improve workplace efficiency by appropriately involving workers in the firm's decision making.