4 Tips To Make Your Office Environment Safer
Office environments undoubtedly should be safe for maximum employee productivity. However, health and safety threats remain prevalent in workplaces, evident by the Bureau of Labour Statistics’ 2020 data that indicates that there are 2.8 injuries per 100 full-time workers in America. Lost time, money, and unproductivity are undesirable consequences of workplace injuries, so employers must ensure to create safer work environments. If you wish to learn more about making your office safe, please look at these points.
Identify And Address Hazards
Workplace hazards are always accidents waiting to happen, so it is always best to fish out and address these threats before they cause significant damage. Some common office hazards include poor lighting, air quality, and temperature, so you can adjust these conditions to provide workers with an optimum working environment. In addition, any ergonomic issues that can affect an employee’s wellbeing, safety, and health are hazards that must be addressed. Furthermore, handle all slip, trip, and fall hazards like wet floors to avoid hefty workers’ compensation payouts. Finally, identify and eliminate any falling objects, electrical and fire hazards, and ensure that your employees operate in a safe working space.
Regularly Clean And Disinfect
It is no secret that coronavirus has altered the business world in several ways. Nevertheless, companies still have to operate amid the danger, so it is prudent to ensure that office spaces are hygienic. According to the CDC, the virus can survive on surfaces for up to 17 days, so your cleaning efforts should always target high-touch surfaces. Consequently, clean your office sinks, telephones, stair railings, countertops, telephones, elevator buttons, breakroom tables, and remote controls multiple times daily to reduce the likelihood of a workplace infection. Also, you can take further steps to protect your office from COVID-19, like conducting a rapid COVID test. This will ensure that the virus doesn’t spread unknowingly among the workforce.
Encourage Breaks From Sedentary Work
Office work typically involves prolonged sitting periods that can pose significant risks to employee health. According to the Wealth Health Organization (WHO), over two million deaths yearly are attributed to inactivity. Therefore, the WHO considers a sedentary lifestyle one of the ten leading causes of disability and death worldwide. Your workers are twice at risk of developing diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and even depression and anxiety due to inactivity. Luckily, you can permit them to take breaks from sitting and eat lunch away from their desks. Furthermore, you can vary their tasks to change their posture regularly and encourage intermittent standing to keep workers active.
Create An Office Safety Committee
Workplace safety and health committee can make your office environment more secure, so keep this in mind. Therefore, you may form a committee of workers from various departments, ensuring that all employees are involved in your safety efforts. Then, ensure that your committee meets monthly, and keep workers and senior management informed about injury statistics, safety topics, inspections, and other safety-related issues. Also, hold company-wide safety meetings to solicit employee feedback on safety concerns around the office, so you can address them in time before they cause significant damage.