SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE

There are approximately six million workplaces in the U.S. that have employees. Eighty-nine percent of them have fewer than 20 employees, and 79% have fewer than 10 employees.¹ Smaller firms dominate every major NORA sector (see table below). Of the 120 million plus workers employed in 2008 in the U.S., more than 54% worked in establishments with less than 100 employees.²

Size of firms by NORA Sectors

Although not clearly illustrated in national injury and illness statistics, several studies show the smaller a business is, the more likely workers are to experience injuries, illnesses and fatalities.^3,4,5,6. Smaller businesses are recognized as having fewer human and capital resources available to devote to the prevention of workplace illnesses, injuries, and fatalities. Injury and illness incidence may appear to managers to be a minor problem because incidents are infrequent. Managers in smaller businesses often work in isolation without sufficient access to peer opinion and industry best practices. These factors not only reduce prevention activities, but may also reduce the reporting of illnesses and injuries to government agencies, insurance companies, and other organizations.

Smaller businesses engage in fewer occupational safety and health activities than larger businesses⁷ for the various reasons noted above. Thus, there is clearly a need for delivering OSH assistance to smaller businesses. Researchers and practitioners have observed that the use of intermediary organizations may be a useful way to overcome the difficulties associated with delivering occupational safety and health assistance to smaller businesses⁸.Intermediary organizations include trade associations, worker groups, insurance companies, chambers of commerce, small business development centers, professional organizations, small-business-focused media, and public health and other government agencies. The Small Business Assistance Program is currently engaged in building relationships in each of these intermediary categories. In addition, the diffusion of innovation/exchange theoretical framework⁹ can be used in collaboration with many other sectors, as seen in the Total Worker Health for Small Business project.

By using intermediaries to reach small businesses, there is increased dissemination of occupational safety and health assistance. For example, a recent search of U.S. business member organizations included more than 31,000 listings¹⁰. Through increased dissemination by trusted intermediaries, there may be an increased likelihood of small businesses considering adoption of occupational safety and health interventions. Collaborations with intermediaries will also lead to better translation of products, so that highly scientific materials can be narrowed down to information that can easily be grasped and quickly applied in small business settings.