4 Tips on How to Survive a Fall in the Office

Say you’re changing a light bulb at the office. You have the height for it. You volunteered. There was no one else around to do it. For whatever reason it happened, for however it happened, the story ends the same way: you find yourself at the top of the ladder, changing an errant bulb and screwing the new one in place when suddenly, something jostles the ladder—the wind, your officemate, a mouse—and the unthinkable happens. You start to lose your balance. 

Next thing you know, you’re falling off the ladder.

What do you do?

1.   Brace yourself.

Emotional preparedness is key. Know that you are going to fall. The sooner you accept that, the less time you spend on thinking “no, this can’t be happening!” Be in the moment. Be prepared. 

2.   Don’t grab at anything.

It’s a normal impulse—to grab at something when you start to fall. But we’re telling you: don’t. If you happen to grab at something—a wire for instance or box—chances are, these will fall after you. Not really such a good idea, especially if whatever you took down with you weighs a ton. That will hurt. A lot.

3.   Find a great spot to land

If your workplace runs to a system office furniture that includes huge sofas, urban chairs and wide acres of desks, well you would obviously be lucky if you land on any large furniture piece that’s soft (like a couch) that won’t break or shatter under your weight—and that it should, of course, be empty. There are plenty of office system furniture Singapore is known for—urban, classy, with great emphasis on comfort. If you see a viable landing space, twist around and position your body in such a way that you’ll end up on that comfortable sofa, desk or, if all else, fails, the carpet. This doesn’t happen automatically so you have to have the quick reflexes to check which spot is good for you to land on and twist your body around in order to hit that site. 

4.   Next time, don’t do it.

This is the wisest and best course of action to take. If you should find yourself in a situation where you had to choose between changing a light bulb or leaving the office to ask for professional help, pick the latter. You might get lucky once and land safely this time around. But that won’t always be the case. Stay safe by not tempting fate.