The pandemic taught us many valuable lessons, but one of the most important lessons was how much employee safety matters. The thing is that there are many aspects to creating a safe environment, some of which are often overlooked. In this guide, we’ll outline the key elements of employee safety and how to implement them in your workplace.
Workplace Cleanliness
Let’s start with the obvious, a clean workplace is a safe workplace. Cleaning is more than simply keeping things today though. There are countless germs and bacteria that go unseen that pose a threat to your staff and therefore, your business. Proper cleaning will not only remove visible dirt and clutter but also limit the spread of unseen organisms too.
To ensure that your office is as clean as possible, we recommend getting the help of a facilities management company that can provide staff with all of the skills and knowledge needed to clean your office properly and keep your staff safe.
Workplace security
The next aspect of employee safety is protecting them from external threats. Things like theft, arson, and vandalism can happy to any business, including yours. Furthermore, internal risks such as harassment and theft are also very real and still occur today. Security measures can help to limit or prevent these incidents from occurring in the first place.
Some measures worth considering are things like CCTV, physical guards, key-holding services, and manned patrols. Putting at least some of these measures in place will make a big impact on the safety of your employees.
Workplace ergonomics
Workplace ergonomics is all about creating a working environment that allows your team to complete their work safely, with minimal risk of discomfort or injury. To achieve good ergonomics, speak to your staff to ensure that they have the appropriate tools, equipment, furniture, and technology to complete their given tasks both safely and efficiently.
Next, look to provide training for your team about important aspects of ergonomics such as how to lift heavy items safely, prevent repetitive stress injuries, maintain correct posture, and reduce the stress placed on high-risk areas like the spine. Doing so will protect them and help to improve the productivity and safety of your workplace.
Mental health
Recent research has highlighted how much of an impact mental health has on your employees and your business. This means that as an employer, you have a responsibility to provide a space that doesn’t impact your employees in a negative way. Areas to look into are your company culture, the leadership style of your managers, and the work-life balance of your staff. These three factors can have a hugely positive or negative effect on the mental health of your team, so take steps to improve them as best you can.
Conclusion
By focusing on improving your workplace in these key areas, you can dramatically improve the safety of your employees.
