Working in a Connecticut hotel brings with it serious injury risks, and data indicates that some hotel workers suffer far more on-the-job injuries than others. Hotel housekeepers, in particular, face elevated work-related injury risks, and so much so that they now hold the most dangerous job in the service sector.
According to UNITE HERE, all hotel workers, regardless of their positions, are 40% more likely to experience a work injury than others who work in service-industry positions. Yet, hotel housekeepers suffer 50% more injuries than others who make their living in hotels, and many of the injuries they experience have a notable impact on quality of life.
Why cleaning hotel rooms often leads to injury
There are several factors that compound work-related injury risks for hotel housekeepers. First, most housekeepers face tough demands and heavy workloads, and many are responsible for cleaning 14 or more hotel rooms each day. The work is difficult and often involves lifting heavy items or furniture and scrubbing on one’s hands and knees.
Many hotels also lack adequate housekeeping staff, and this, too, increases the demands placed on hotel housekeepers. The pace of work required of them is also quite high, and working at unsafe speeds increases injury risks.
What hotel housekeepers are most at risk
The majority of today’s hotel housekeepers are female, and women in this line of work suffer 50% more on-the-job injuries than men. Hispanic hotel housekeepers are also at an elevated risk of injury, facing an injury rate of 10.6 per every 100,000 working full-time.
The majority of hotel housekeepers also say that their work-related pain is severe enough to warrant taking pain medication or scheduling trips to the doctor.
