Penny Neice has worked in a grocery store in Toronto’s west end for almost forty years. She is aware of the impact musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) can have on grocery store workers. “I know it is because of the repetitive nature of the work we do. It can happen gradually over time.” From receiving to checkout, grocery store workers are constantly moving items throughout the store and into the hands of customers.

Product handling is a large part of a grocery store worker’s daily routine. This could lead to MSDs—injuries of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs. Symptoms can include pain, tingling, or numbness in the back, neck, wrists, shoulders, and knees. MSD injuries can be caused by a specific incident; however, more often they occur slowly as workers are exposed to hazards repeatedly over time. 

Work-related experiences with MSDs were validated at a recent risk assessment workshop facilitated by Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS). Worker and management representatives from Metro, Sobeys, Farm Boy, Longo’s, and Whole Foods gathered to identify and address the health and safety risks that can harm workers in the grocery store sector. Penny, who was there as a worker representative for Metro, participated with others around the table, by discussing how employees could experience MSDs in the workplace.

“Bringing management and worker representatives together to look at hazards from the same perspective was productive. Often, we are coming at these issues from different places, so to have us approach them from the same place was great,” says Marc Yuill, Director of Occupational Health and Safety at Farm Boy. This integrated risk assessment methodology was first introduced by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development (MLITSD) back in 2013 and has since been used to effectively identify hazards, pinpoint root causes, and develop solutions for several high-risk sectors in Ontario.

“WSPS has completed risk assessment and root cause analysis workshops for the other industries within food and beverage: from production to manufacturing to distribution. So, it makes sense to turn our attention now to the final destination—grocery stores,” says Melissa Morin, Specialized Consultant with WSPS. “We had a broad spectrum of representatives at the workshop. Some had only a few years of experience working in grocery stores and some had decades of experience. Regardless of the size of the operation, they all seemed to agree on the core hazards to which their workers are exposed.”

MSDs top the list of hazards

The group started with 36 hazardous events that they brought to the table. They were based on the participants’ knowledge and experiences from their workplaces. After in-depth discussion about each one, the group assessed each hazardous event based on severity and frequency to determine the top ten risks facing grocery store workers in Ontario. Exposure to MSDs emerged the number one risk. 

“MSDs being at the top of the list didn’t surprise me at all. Almost every job in any grocery store can expose workers to MSDs,” says Penny. “Years ago, when I started, we didn’t think about ergonomics and how we performed these tasks as much as we do now, so I’m very happy that we are focusing on it,” she says. 

Marc has also seen MSDs disrupt people’s lives, particularly when they can no longer do the job they want to do. “When a worker returns to work after taking some time to recover from their injury, they can’t always go back to exactly what they were doing before and that can be hard to accept,” he says. “It’s important for us to stop and observe how our teams are doing certain tasks and, together, look for better ways to do them that reduce the risk of developing an MSD.”

Slips and trips were second on the list of top risks for the grocery store sector, after MSDs, and lacerations from working with equipment came third. Workplace stress leading to mental harm and workplace harassment were fourth and fifth on the list. Struck-by hazards and falls were sixth and seventh on the list. Workplace violence related to rising crime came in at number eight. Slips from ice build-up near freezers and lacerations from hand tools finished off the list in the ninth and tenth spots. 

One thing that stood out was that three of the top ten risks are related to mental health—workplace stress leading to mental harm, workplace harassment, and workplace violence. “Since grocery workers deal directly with the public, it brings in additional factors that can potentially expose workers to these psychosocial risks,” explains Melissa. Marc brought up the same point, noting that psychosocial hazards can be more difficult to track and identify, so he was pleased to see them gaining attention here. 

Investigating root causes

With the top ten risks identified, the next step is to choose one and investigate its root causes in a two-day root-cause analysis workshop. The group will examine this risk statement: exposure to MSDs, such as heavy lifting, repetitive motion and awkward postures from manually handling products can negatively impact workplace safety and the wellbeing of workers. Uncovering the root causes behind MSDs will be invaluable in helping WSPS create tailored solutions for the grocery store sector to mitigate this risk.

As work continues, a toolkit of best practices and current resources has been developed to assist employers in addressing the top ten risks. Meantime, participants will take the information they gained from the risk assessment workshop back to their workplaces. “As an industry, consistency is important,” says Marc. “If we all go back to our workplaces and do some of things that we discussed during the workshop, it will help to create safer work environments for all of us.” 

More information

• View an infographic of the top 10 risks.
• Access our extensive toolkit of resources to help mitigate the top health and safety risks in your grocery store.
• Review the Grocery Stores Risk Assessment Results to examine the findings and details of the risk assessment process.

The information in this article is accurate as of its publication date.