Maintaining a Safe Workspace for Employees

February 15 2023 - The International Labour Organization estimates that yearly, there are around 340 million occupational accidents and 160 million victims of work-related illnesses globally. Therefore, it is essential to see employees' workplace safety and keep a safe and healthy work environment to maximise productivity.

Workplace Safety Precautions

Workplace safety involves providing employees with safe working space, equipment, procedures, and policies. Here are some of the significant ways to ensure workplace safety.

Promoting a Safety Culture

Promoting a safety culture among workers from the start is very important in wiring the workers' mentality towards safety, looking out for each other as coworkers, and creating an all-around safe environment. For workers, this safety culture would also involve taking regular breaks, sitting in an appropriate posture, and maintaining a proper and healthy diet.

This culture should also extend to the company's clients, as the goal is to ensure the safety of everyone who interacts or relates with the company physically.

Identify Potential Hazards

To ensure a safe work environment, it becomes imperative to identify potential hazards that can cause physical damage to workers and have them cleared. For example, the company should see things like removing all sharp objects lying around, removing all tables with sharp edges, and properly organising the workspace.

Training and Equipment

Promoting a policy isn't enough unless backed up by actions and resources. All staff members must be equipped with adequate safety information and taught the most effective way possible to promote health and safety beyond levels of just individual awareness. This training would help them to recognise potential hazards and the ways to investigate and respond to injuries.

Provision for Traveling Employees

Workplace safety precautions go beyond controlling what goes on in the office's physical space. It also includes what goes on while on official duty.

Research has shown that employees that travel regularly are more susceptible and have a higher risk of developing different kinds of health issues that range from anxiety, depression, high blood pressure etc., to physical dangers like road accidents. One way to be intentional about such employees' mental and health fitness is to ensure that the accommodation selected for them has exercise facilities, as it is a proven way to improve well-being and, ultimately, performance.

Another way to show interest in the welfare and safety of travelling employees is by constant communication. The communication doesn't have to be manual as you can achieve it by installing telematics software in the company vehicles used for travelling. Telematics automatically sends information about the vehicle remotely over long distances. Such information includes the location of the car, the speed at which it's travelling, how fast the driver brakes etc.

Reducing Workplace Stress

The leading causes of workplace stress are working long hours or overtime without breaks, excessive workload, etc., which can lead to anxiety, depression and, consequently, concentration problems.

Importance of Maintaining a Safe Workspace

Finances

A safe work environment is a productive one. Maintaining safe and healthy workers would improve concentration and maximise productivity, resulting in more revenue for the company. Research shows that every 1 dollar invested in workplace safety yields a 4 dollar return on investments.

Also, if a company doesn't comply with Occupational Safety and Health legislation and an employee gets injured at work, the company could face severe legal and financial consequences.

Impressions

A company that shows active concern about creating a safe work environment would build a good impression with the employees as it would mean that the company cares about the welfare and health of its employees, which would lead to employee retention.

A safe workspace and happy employees would also be a confidence booster for potential clients to deal with your company.

Wrapping Up

A company that doesn't show concern for a safe and healthy workspace digs its grave by leaving an opportunity for its potential clients to perceive the company as nonchalant and unprofessional, which the company's rivals could exploit.

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