Health and safety in the workplace is certainly well-known, however, it is too often neglected. Whether it’s a warehouse or an office space, a lab, or a building site, both the employees and employers have a responsibility to make sure they are aware of all the risks they could impact health and safety. Health and safety in the workplace needs to be a top priority, including having a fire drill in place to ensuring your safety on elevated work platform and so your employees are prepared for emergencies.
So, what can you do to ensure you and you’re employees are kept safe in the work-place? Let’s have a look below:
Have A Clean Working Environment
It’s essential for you to promote a clean working environment. It sets the initial foundation for keeping safe and leads to a successful working space. Make sure work areas are tidy and clean but also clear any cables, obstructions, and immediately deal with spills or leaks. This will help to create a hazard-free zone for you and your employees to feel safe. It will help to protect your employees and it will also lead to a more motivated and productive team.
Have Open Communication In Place
When you have a working environment where there is only a one-way system of communication, you often come across employees that are too afraid to speak up and ask questions. You do not want this. Safety should be an area where anyone feels safe to speak up and voice their concerns and there shouldn’t be a single set of rules in place. Instead, health and safety should be a widespread part of workplace culture. Enabling employees to feel comfortable to speak out about their opinions and potential work hazards.
Be Fully Aware Of Regulations
It’s vital that you are aware of health and safety regulations. Awareness of workplace safety regulations will help with the prevention of avoidable accidents that can cause lost working days. Ensuring both employers and employees are trained and aware of the most up-to-date guidelines, businesses can help to think about what could go wrong before it happens.
Speak Up If You See Something
If you see something, then you speak up about it. Keeping quiet is not the right thing to do for your safety and the safety of others. Slips and trips are the most commonly reported accidents at work, however, most of these accidents could have bee prevented if they have been recognized as hazards. Recognizing and speaking up about hazards will help you to reduce risks and take the appropriate steps to do so. With an open safety policy in place in your workplace, employees will feel more confident that they will be heard if they speak out if they identify a problem. These include things like obstructions, loose cables, and concerns such as uneven flooring.
Make Sure Information Is Easy To Find
If you want your employees to feel safe as well as confident about health and safety you need to make sure all the information is easy to find and accessible. Clearly display the information around the workplace, you can use posters, leaflets, emails, newsletters, whatever way is going to interact with your employees the best.
Health and safety definitely plays an important role in the functioning of a successful workplace. Both employees and employers need to adopt a proactive approach to it. Is there anything you do in your workplace to promote health and safety? Please share them in the comments below.
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