Tag: healthy work environment

Could You Do More To Protect Your Employees?

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Employee wellbeing is a subject of great interest at the moment, and many business owners are implementing additional measures to look after their teams. If you run a company or an organization, and you’re keen to protect your employees as best you can, here are some tips to consider.

Health and safety

Every employer assumes responsibility for their employees when offering contracts and encouraging teams to go out and tackle tasks. If you own or rent premises, or you operate remote teams, you have a duty to make sure that workplaces are safe and that your team has access to the relevant safety equipment. Provide training, check equipment frequently and carry out regular risk assessments. Ensure that you follow rules and regulations, and make sure that you record every incident and respond to complaints or reports of issues. 

Mental health and wellbeing

Stress is more common than ever. As an employer, it’s not possible to prevent every illness or mental health disorder, but it is beneficial to try and be proactive in protecting your workforce. There are steps business owners can take to try and lower risks and create a healthy working environment for staff. Encourage employees to manage their schedules to allow for downtime and breaks, avoid putting too much pressure on your team, include wellbeing perks in employee benefits packages and communicate openly with your employees. Try to be flexible to enable your team to enjoy a healthy work-life balance and consider measures, such as condensing hours or investing in technology, to increase efficiency and productivity. 

Abuse and violence

Reports of abuse in the workplace have become more commonplace, especially in sectors such as healthcare, the emergency services and retail. There are several ways you can try to enhance protection, including providing physical barriers to deter people from coming too close in stores or practices and clinics, providing training for staff to help them resolve conflicts and using technology such as Motorola police car radios. Cameras can record footage that is useful for professional purposes, as well as for pursuing action if employees sustain injuries or suffer verbal abuse. It is also beneficial to invest in security and to use signs and posters to alert customers to zero-tolerance policies. 

Making mistakes

Making mistakes is human nature, but the implications for employees can be devastating. Employers cannot always prevent errors, but it is possible to reduce risks. Ensure that your employees have the relevant training to attempt tasks or enter scenarios that may be challenging, and use technology to simplify jobs and minimize the risk of human error and record calls, footage and camera images. It is also essential to make sure that you have comprehensive business insurance. If there is an incident involving a customer, for example, review the footage and listen to accounts from both parties before you decide what action to take. It’s important to support your team as best you can.

Employers have a duty to protect their staff and comply with regulations and legislation that are designed to reduce risks in the workplace. Ensure that your business is fully compliant, prioritize health and wellbeing, take action to prevent employee abuse and be proactive in trying to eliminate mistakes.

Is Your Job Damaging Your Health?

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Your job may not seem particularly dangerous, but it could still be harming your physical health. Here are some of the hidden ways in which everyday jobs can take a toll on our health and what you can do to reduce the risks.

Work-related stress

Stress is often said to be the biggest killer. It damages our immune system, increases our blood pressure and can affect the ability to get to sleep. In the long run, it can lead to heart disease and strokes. It’s also been heavily linked with cancer. On top of this, stress is a leading cause of depression and anxiety.

Most people experience periods of stress within their jobs but if you’re constantly stressed it could be worth looking into ways of relieving stress. Exercise, meditation and listening to music are just a few proven stress-busters. Alternatively, it could be time for a holiday from work – or even a new job if you don’t feel this will help.

Sitting down all day

Many of today’s jobs involve sitting down all day, whether it’s sitting behind a desk or sitting behind a steering wheel. Sitting down all day can lead to weight gain through inactivity, which itself can lead to all kinds of health problems. Poor posture while sitting down can also lead to back problems.

Taking regular breaks from work to get up and be active can help combat weight gain, while ensuring that your chair/seat is properly adjusted so that you’re not leaning forward could prevent you getting a bad back. There may be treatment options that you can explore if you’ve already got a bad back from sitting down all day such as looking into a worker’s compensation back surgeon. As for combating weight gain, it could be a case of exercising more out of work hours and improving your diet (no more snacking at the desk).

Repetitive strain

Repetitive movements such as typing on a keyboard, scanning items on a conveyor belt or using certain power tools can eventually lead to permanent aching and numbness. This is known as a repetitive strain injury.  

Taking regular breaks from these activities can prevent an RSI occurring. If this isn’t possible, there could be ways of improving posture or ergonomics to reduce the risk of injury such as making sure your computer keyboard is level with your elbows when you type.

Loud noise exposure

Some work environments such as construction sites and music venues can be very noisy. Prolonged exposure to loud noise can result in hearing loss, which can often be irreversible.

Your employer may be legally entitled to provide ear protection in such environments. Always make sure that you’re wearing this ear protection as this could reduce the risk of hearing damage. If you’ve noticed that your hearing is already damaged, you may want to look into hearing aids.

Using dirty equipment

Equipment that isn’t cleaned regularly can become a breeding ground for germs and viruses. This could include POS displays and computer keyboards. Exposure to this dirty equipment could increase the risk of catching colds and flus.

Employees may sometimes be given the duty of cleaning this equipment, so make sure that you are regularly cleaning it.

Do You Know The Responsibilities Of An Employer? You Should!

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When you work for someone, it is important that you understand the responsibilities that they hold as your employer. It is their job to ensure that certain things in place to keep your time at work as pleasant as possible. Do you know what the responsibilities of an employer are? Well you should, and we are going to talk about some of them in this article.

Fair Hiring Standards

The first thing that we are going to look at is fair hiring standards. What this means is that you should not be discriminated against at all during this process. It doesn’t matter whether you are a man/woman, black/white, gay/straight etc, you should be given the fair opportunity to interview for the role. Once this has been completed, the company should hire the person who is best suited for the job, not someone that they like.

If you feel as though there has been an issue in which fair hiring standards have not been enforced, you should discuss this with a lawyer immediately. The company could be facing a lot of trouble if they are found to be discriminatory with their hiring practices.

Keeping You Safe

Your employer must keep you safe while you are on business property or while you are completing work under the business’s name. There are a lot of issues that you can face at work, and sometimes the worst happens and someone can lose a life. Wrongful death claims often require legal assistance, and if you or anyone you know has a case involving wrongful death, you should speak to a lawyer about this. Your employer is supposed to make sure that you are safe at work, and if you are not, then you could have a case against the company.

Keeping A Healthy Work Environment

As well as keeping you safe, it is the job of your employer to provide you with a healthy work environment. This means mentally and physically. You should not be in any danger of physical or mental abuse, and there should be no reason for you to get sick. All health and safety codes should be followed down to the letter, but if you think your employer isn’t doing this then you should talk to them about this. See if they will enforce the codes to a higher standard. If they don’t, then it might be time to take further action.

Ensuring A Fair Pay Level

Finally, it is vital that your employer offers a fair pay level to everyone working for them. You should not be paid under minimum wage in any circumstances, and if this is happening to you, then you need to talk to your employer about this. There is a reason that the minimum wage is set, and to be paid under it is illegal. As such, you should take this issue up with your employer if this is happening. It is their job to make sure that you are being paid fairly, and if they are neglecting this duty, then you might have to take further action.

We hope that you have found this article helpful. If you didn’t know what the responsibilities of an employer are, then hopefully you do now.