PLAYING THE LOTTERY AND WORK PLACE INJURIES

People often overestimate the good things that will occur to them over time and dismiss many of the possible negative outcomes life can dish out. Many people have the mindset of “it won’t happen to me” when it comes to being injured, whether that is at home or at work. It is important to realize that injuries can happen to anyone while at work or when doing work at home if the proper steps are not taken to work safely.

Odds of Winning the Lottery

The majority of employees go to work every day thinking an injury will never happen to them. Many of these same people play the lottery from time to time when they stop at the local gas station. We do not play the lottery because we think we are going to waste those dollars trying, we play because we have the chance to win.

The Powerball is arguably the most well-known lottery in the United States. Every time we buy a ticket we dream about what we will do with the millions we will win. After all, there is a chance to win right? If you buy one ticket for the Powerball, you have a 1 in 292,201,338 chance to win according to their website. Even if you played the Powerball every week for a lifetime, the odds of winning are still extremely slim. So if we play the lottery thinking we have the possibility to win then why do many of us think an injury at work will never occur?

Workplace Injury Statistics

In 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in the United States. That works out to 2.8 cases per every 100 full-time workers. Obviously, a few industries experience a majority of workplace injuries and illnesses, but overall the chance of you getting hurt on the job is much greater than winning the Powerball.

Summary

As humans, we tend to overestimate the chance of good things happening to us and downplay bad things occurring in our life. While having a positive attitude and outlook on life is important, it is also important to not let it put blinders on you while dealing with the hazards of your work. Take the hazards of a work task seriously. Having the “it won’t happen to me” mindset will not protect you from an injury whether that is in the workplace or off the job.