Facts and Figures: Is Your Job Killing You?

Pointy-Haired Boss from Scott Adams’ Dilbert: Relieved that Alice is the one who Really ought to worry.
If musing about the upcoming Labor Day has you wondering, scan these fun facts from the always-jocular Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:

Overall, fatal falls are down 25 percent from the series high of 847 fatal falls reported in 2007…Fatal injuries resulting from being struck by objects or equipment [even malfunctioning HP Laserjet printers!] were also lower, down 4 percent in 2010 to 402. Fatal work injuries involving exposure to harmful substances or environments [does this include toxic co-workers?] were up slightly, but electrocutions declined.

Workplace suicides declined slightly from the series high of 263 cases in 2009 to 258 cases in 2010. [Hang in there, Kitty!]

Of most interest to the pointy-haired one, workplace homicides declined 7 percent in 2010 to the lowest total ever recorded by the fatality census [yay!], but workplace homicides involving women increased by 13 percent. [Alice, look out!]