7 Important Workplace Safety Tips for Office Employees

There are a multitude of different companies and industries that operate within society today. Each of these companies have their own specializations and unique goods or services that separate them from the others.  However, there is one key principle that brings every company together regardless of what they do specifically: workplace safety.

Workplace safety refers to the process of creating an environment that allows workers to truly feel safe and gives them the opportunity to maximize productivity and focus without the presence of worry or anxiety.

When managers proactively focus on building a secure workplace, they are representing a genuine care for those who work for them. Along with protection for your employees, it also contributes to overall operations that are beneficial for aspects of business and profitability.

Offices that are effectively secured are less likely to be subject to liability, compensation, insurance, and other social security based expenses that may have to be paid out in the wake of an error. As a result, you will be able to contribute to ensuring the overall success of your company and its employees.

Here are 7 important workplace safety tips to help you ensure the safety and security of your employees:

1. Establish an Alliance with OSHA

OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is responsible for protecting the rights of employees and ensuring safety within work environments in terms of operations. This organization has assisted in contributing secure office spaces across the nation.

To further their efforts, OSHA has established an alliance program that creates a solidified relationship between themselves and companies. Becoming part of this alliance is a great way to improve safety within your office and have access to the resources necessary that can enhance the situation overall.

The partnership between the two of you will specifically focus on taking all of the appropriate steps that lead to the prevention of deaths, illnesses, and injuries that may take place in the office. As part of this agreement, there are various procedures that will be implemented into your normal operations that are rooted in a commitment to this goal.

These include performing tasks such as developing compliance assistance tools as well as best practice documents, collaborating with others who also belong to the alliance in order to further the impact by way of the direct addressment of safety topics, and partake in activities at forums and stakeholder meetings that exhibit progress and understanding.

2. Encourage General Safety Procedures

Although there are many steps that may seem more substantial in regards to their impact on your office environment as a whole, it is crucial to pay attention to some of the more general safety precautions that can be carried out by your staff as well.

These procedures are simple to take advantage of on a consistent base and, when done correctly, can come together to further the overall security within your office. Most of these recommendations are based around the correct way to operate within the workplace in relation to some of the most common activities that are to be performed by your staff.

Here are a few was to stay safe at the office:

• Stay Sober While at Work

It’s estimated that deaths and injuries that occur on the job directly related to intoxication have risen significantly since 2011.

• Keep Emergency Exits Apparent

If a situation arises where a quick exit is necessary, it is vital that the exit signs are able to properly function and lead your staff to safety.

• Keep Correct Posture

Those who work from a desk for the majority of their day are subject to serious back problems if they do not maintain proper posture or take breaks from their chair. These, along with an array of other small choices, can be used by your staff on a daily basis to produce safer standards.

3. Implement Larger Safety Measures

For the smaller safety measures, a commitment is established to safety that can be constantly achieved on a daily basis. However, these precautions can not account for every situation that may occur within an office space.

To ensure that your employees are ready for any circumstances that may arise and have the resources or knowledge needed to function in order to maintain a secure office, it is important to implement more large scale safety measures that are good for the long term.

These procedures aid in allowing for safety to be achieved even in the wake of more significant situations. When managers take these steps, they are able to create results that include improved morale, fewer injuries, lower costs, and increased productivity by their team.

Some efforts that can be taken by managers to create this impact is carrying out frequent workplace training that produces a well informed culture, conduct necessary first aid training that can give employees the information required to deal with any injuries or health situations, and attend expos that supply you with information that allows you to lead your staff better in regards to safety and security.

4. Make Employees Aware of Their Rights

Within every workplace, regardless of the specific industry the work relates to, there are certain rights that are guaranteed to each employee. These rights are regulated under federal law which solidify their importance within the office.

The responsibility of these employee rights is to protect their freedoms and prevent them from being forced into potentially harmful circumstances by way of their employer’s behavior.

To make sure that these are actually contributing to accomplishing this overall goal, it is important that you as a manager inform your employees of all the rights they have so that they can stand up for themselves and be part of a workplace that is secure, safe, and comfortable for themselves.

It is the sole responsibility of the company to provide a working atmosphere that is free of known safety and health hazards. If the employee holds any concerns in regards to this requirement, they are entitled to speak freely without the possibility of any consequences.

In addition to this, there is a diverse range of other rights that they are entitled to which you should efficiently communicate to them. These include such things as being trained in a language they can understand, request inspections to be carried out by OSHA, reporting injuries freely, receiving copies of past test results that examined company security, and having protection from toxic or harmful substances.

5. Provide Information on Reporting

One major aspect of a secure, safe work environment that goes partially along with the rights of workers is their ability to report any activity they find to be suspicious without the presence of any consequences as a result. In order to maintain safe conditions, employees must be able to make managers or OSHA aware of any unsafe traits within the office that could prove to be harmful to themselves or their coworkers.

Managers should provide their employees with information that allows them to understand how to complete these processes effectively. They should know that these reports are able to be submitted confidentially if they’d like to protect their identities along with knowing that these reports will result in an inspection that examines the case.

6. Include Your Staff

Creating a secure working environment is a big responsibility for managers, however, this process does not need to be completed alone. In fact, it is much more beneficial to include everyone in the office as part of implementing and partaking in adequate safety measures that lead to exceptional conditions as a whole.

In order to do this, managers can take direct feedback and advice from their own employees that gives them a look into how the office should be run from the point of view of the staff.

One of the main purposes of creating a safe environment is to ensure the comfort of your employees so it only makes sense to include them in the conversation. The information that they provide to you can be analyzed so that a plan can be developed to achieve your desired results.

Along with this, a more inclusive culture will be established that makes the staff feel like their opinions and preferences matter. Another example of how this can be done is by way of a safety pledge that promises a dedication to security for every staff member as well as yourself.

7. Track Data

Once you have implemented whatever measures you have decided on within your office, it is important that you track their progress to see how well they are working for you and your staff as a whole.

Analysis can be performed that allows you to develop a complete understanding of what is working and what can be improved so that you can continue to make changes that consistently maintain safety and security.

When you are looking directly at the information that is related to the procedures you have in place, you will be able to continue making improvements that enable you to guarantee your desired work environment.

Looking for a way to manage your workplace more efficiently? Check out what Eden’s Workplace Management Platform can do for your office.