Jennybean:
It's nice to read that your husband truly cares about you. He's absolutely correct -- especially because it's in the workplace, where you may have no idea if somebody was "repairing" something and caused a problem with the circuit, etc.
OSHA Professor and Sparky:
Relative to the arc flash hazard, the breakers in my home (Square-D HOM type) have 3 positions for the toggle switch. If something causes a fault, the breaker "trips" but the toggle is halfway between "ON" and "OFF." The "ON" and "OFF" positions are just what their names imply. Thus it is easier to tell if something was shorted/overdrawn, etc. if various breakers are on and off at the same time.
That said...I just would like a clarification...are you saying that the threat of the arc flash is present only when there is something on the circuit that still needs to be repaired, (that would be the fault, for example, a short circuit, correct?) or is this threat always there?
I think a nice length of dowel stick might be worth it ;-)
