Do Your Employees Feel Safe In The Workplace?

As employers, there is a duty to provide a safe working environment for employees. It’s also an employee’s responsibility to follow protocols to ensure the work environment remains safe and to speak up when working conditions aren’t suitable.

It’s always important to consider; do your employees feel safe in the workplace? You should be asking this question consistently to manage working conditions for your employees, as happy employees are more productive and have a deeper sense of pride in the work they do.

Offer Up-To-Date Training And Resources

There needs to be a thorough health and safety plan in place for your workplace, and it needs to be updated as regulations are updated. Furthermore, it should be mandatory that everyone undergoes extensive health and safety training tailored to the work environment, and that training completion should be documented.

There should also be accessible and legible health and safety posters or documents that are in a place where staff can easily reference them at any time. You should always have a functional first aid kit, clear signage for emergency exits, and procedures to report incidents.

Keep The Environment Clean

One might not always consider how their workspace can impact their health and safety. Keeping work areas clear of clutter, dust, and other hazards can help an employee feel more comfortable at work. If everyone pitches in as they can to maintain cleanliness and order, it can feel like much less of a daunting task.

Schedule a monthly inspection of the workspace to make sure everything is in working order and no new safety issues have presented themselves. This can also involve asking employees for feedback about what safety problems they might have noticed.

Track number plates with ANPR cameras

ANPR stands for “automatic number plate recognition”.

These cameras have the ability to track the number plates of vehicles on your site have can be used in conjunction with gates to control vehicle access.

Consider Protocols For Illness(es)

COVID-19 has taught many employers that workplaces are breeding grounds for illnesses that can spread quickly. When safe protocols aren’t in place to reduce transmission of illnesses, it can distract employees and cause them to feel unsafe at work. A rapid spread of illness can also impact who is able to come to work, which can slow down business.

There should be access to protective equipment and sanitization tools to help employees mitigate the potential risk of catching an illness from a coworker, even outside of COVID-19. Additionally, things like air quality and open spaces in offices shouldn’t be ignored.

Consider Security Measures Outside Of The Office

It’s also important to consider how the environment outside of the office or workspace functions in regards to safety. Are there any security cameras or automatic number plate recognition features on security systems to help keep those in your parking lot accountable? If an employee feels unsafe going to and from their car or the bus stop, they won’t view their workplace as safe.

Don’t Tolerate Unsafe Work

Sometimes days can be stressful and employees might want to take shortcuts to get things done. Allowing a one-time exception is never the right answer. If an employer doesn’t stay true to health and safety rules, there’s no reason to expect employees to.

When you show your employees that an unsafe work environment isn’t tolerated, whether it’s physically or mentally unsafe, they will feel as though their employer has their best interests in mind instead of only being concerned about the bottom line.

Final Thoughts

Creating a safe workplace needs to be everyone’s priority; everyone has the right to a safe workplace. It’s not enough to simply follow legislation. Employers should always seek input from staff so they don’t overlook any potential safety concerns. When a workplace is safe and employers make it known that their employees’ safety is cared about, it’s always healthier and more productive.