Look Left and Get it Right
by Gone are the days when children would be rapped over the knuckles for using their left hand, but lefties can be at far greater risk in workplaces that fail to accommodate them.
A Different Minority
In the last two decades employers have gained more understanding of the needs of minority employees, from those who are culturally different to those with disabilities. But many employer still overlook one minority group: left-handed workers. Lefties make up about 10% of the population and the average workforce.
Modern society still tends to regard left-handedness as slightly abnormal. It doesn’t help that our language is biased against the left, with words like ‘sinister’ and ‘cack-handed.’ And it’s easy to forget that even though the majority of people are right-handed, this doesn’t make it the ‘norm.’
Left-handed employees deserve the same consideration as other minorities. Factories can pose serious safety threats to lefties. Most workplaces are designed with right-handed people in mind, and left-handers are left to fend for themselves. Their solutions may put them at risk.
Assembly Lines
Assembly lines are a case in point. Lefties sometimes have difficulty keeping up, struggling to work in a way that is unnatural for them. This unnaturalness is caused by assembly line tasks being organised for right-handers. One solution is to allow enough room on both sides of the line, so that left-handers can stand opposite other workers and use their dominant hand.
Safety switches and safety guards in factories (for example, on machines like band saws) are biased towards the right. Left-handed people have two choices with such machinery. They can lean across and risk harm to themselves, or they can try and use the machine right-handedly, putting strain on their non-dominant hand (with the possibility of occupational overuse syndrome). This also means their work may not be up to standard.
Altering Equipment
Often only minimal alteration to equipment is needed to make it safe for left-handed people. Machinery controls can be placed where both right and left-handers can easily access them. A double control could be installed so whoever is using the machinery can confidently switch it off if a problem arises.
Levers on tools such as drill presses are normally on the right. When left-handed workers reach across their body to use them it blocks their view. Accuracy is impaired, and productivity reduced.
In such cases it may be a matter of purchasing left-handed equipment, which is now more readily available. When left-handed tools are purchased, they will need to be readily identifiable so that right-handed workers do not damage them by attempting to use them.
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