Workplace safety is a term people often hear in the office, but few truly understand its importance. Do you feel as though your office protocol leaves room for error or confusion in the event of a workplace emergency? As a business owner, are you confident in navigating your employees through several emergency scenarios? Below, we explore the top three reasons why workplace safety is important in terms of health, security, and general well-being.
Why Is Safety in the Office Important? Our Top 3 Reasons Why
Workplace safety should be just as paramount to a business as client retention and employee benefits. In conjunction with the current threat of a global pandemic, workplace health and safety procedures are even more important for the well-being of both employees and employers. Without it, no one would feel comfortable in the workplace and would be ill-equipped to navigate a true emergency.
Human loss is both immeasurable and intolerable. As such, a sudden loss or injury can employ major loss to the families. Although there are many benefits to practicing workplace safety, we wish to highlight our top three reasons below.
#1. Workplace Safety Training Boosts Workplace Security
One would be surprised to discover how many employees fail to take note of their surrounding hazards. As a result, it becomes increasingly crucial to observe your co-employees working circumstances. Once you and your office grow accustomed to particular hazards that occur at your workplace, then it will help reduce the risk and allow for further, precautionary steps.
Employee Training: Utilizing the SLAM Technique
Therefore, it is paramount for you to educate your staff on how to remain cognizant of any unusual behavior or activity both within the office and beyond. For better retention in situational awareness, you can train by utilizing the SLAM technique:
- Stop: Observe your surroundings and become aware of what is going on around you.
- Look: Pay attention to what you see, and notice whether anything appears out of the ordinary or out of place. Take note and report anything that looks unsafe or unusual to your supervisors.
- Assess: If you think you have identified a potential threat, decide what action to take. Report anything that looks unsafe or unusual to your supervisors.
- Manage: If you feel unsafe at any time, stop. Tell your coworkers and immediately report to your supervisor. If you have solutions that would help improve the safety of yourself and others in your workplace, alert your supervisor.
By becoming more aware and observant in the workplace, all employees can help maintain a safe environment and improve the safety of everyone around them.
Leadership Training: Keeping them in the Loop of Emerging Hazards
It is important to continue updating staff in leadership and supervisor roles about current or emerging hazards or risks occurring at the workplace. They should be legally obligated to ensure your employees work in a safe environment. Furthermore, in the instance where your employees are found working in unsafe conditions, then it is the responsibility of the supervisor to understand the condition and create a safe working environment for employees.
Safety Solutions: Security Products to Implement Today
When you create an environment focused on patron safety, you decrease the risk of incurred injuries and other dangerous scenarios. With proper workplace safety equipment in place, you can keep the priority of protecting your employees.
Here are several, highly effective workplace security solutions to implement in the office at all times:
- Barricade Locks
- Lockdown Hardware
- Window Shades
- Crisis Response Kits
- Tourniquets
- Bleed Control Kits
#2. Workplace Safety Enhances Employee Well-Being
With busy schedules both at work with long hours and deadlines in addition to individual responsibilities at home, it can be difficult for employees to stay focused on wellness. As a result, each of these demanding components can grow burdensome and incredibly stressful, leading to some illnesses, depression, or severe anxiety.
These conditions not only affect an employee’s professional performance and efficiency, but also their personal life. Therefore, in place of handling each scenario as they come, take the initiative to boost your workplace safety.
This can be accomplished by prioritizing the health of your staff through encouraging breaks (within reason), maintaining proper posture while working, and encouraging better eating habits with healthy luncheons. Furthermore, encourage your employees to engage in confidential platforms where they can discuss any issues, conflicts, or stresses with their supervisor or H.R. representative.
In the long run, with proper workplace safety measures in place that cater to your staffs’ general well-being, your company will see heightened efficiency, increased workplace satisfaction, and boosted employee retention rates.
#3. Workplace Safety Keeps Your Staff Healthy
In addition to your employees’ security and safe well-being, it is equally important to protect your staffs’ physical health. The year 2020 magnified the possibilities of how quickly contagious illnesses can spread in a workplace, home, or public center. As a result, many companies learned the hard way what happens when they fail to implement proper measures of workplace safety.
If it is necessary for employees to return to the office and complete their work there (in conjunction with recommended health and safety guidelines for workplaces and businesses), help those in your workplace stay healthy by implementing the following Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Products:
- Desk Partitions
- Disposable Masks
- KN95 Masks
- Face Shields
- Protective Goggles
- Isolation Gowns
- Blue Nitrile Gloves
Although not every industry will benefit from every product listed above, these are some examples of personal protective equipment readily available for you to implement in your workplace. Furthermore, take additional measures such as routine temperature checks and cleaning high-touch surfaces to ensure you perform your part in increasing workplace safety. Doing so will also help to alleviate stress caused by the increased risk of exposure to the Coronavirus.
Promoting Security with School Safety Solutions
At School Safety Solution, our number one priority is ensuring the highest level of security and safety possible exists in your workplace. Door barricade hardware is the easiest, most efficient way of doing so, but there are several other options you can also take if you really want to go the extra mile.
First, you can check to make sure every door in your building has a solid core, one which cannot be split down the middle by force. Door barricade hardware effectively secures your door; however, if the door itself breaks, there will little that your barricade system can do.
An additional, important component of door safety is a reinforced door frame. When doors are kicked down, it is usually because of a weaker frame. By reinforcing both sides of each door frame, you can make it nearly impossible for unwanted entry of your property or classroom.
If you would like to further discuss your door barricade hardware options, or any other security solution in consideration, we would love to assist you. You can call our team of safety experts at 888.733.0406 or send us an email at info@schoolsafetysolution.com for more information.