As the boss of your own company, you’re not only responsible for the overall operations of your business, you’re also responsible for the health and safety of any workers in your employment. Your employees will spend an average of eight hours a day working to further your business, so it is up to you to ensure that their working conditions are safe. If you take steps to see that your employees are well looked after, they will appreciate you as their boss, and consequently work more efficiently. Here are a few things you can do to maintain the health and safety of your employees and ensure they love coming into work.
Keep it tidy
A small office feels even more cramped if you’re crowded by boxes, old documents, unopened packages, and miscellaneous junk. If you only do one thing to make the office a welcoming environment, it should be clearing out the clutter and putting everything in its place. Not only are you asking for an accident to happen with all these tripping hazards, but you’re not presenting a professional image to your employees and customers. Filing documents properly, or going paperless altogether, will significantly reduce the amount of time you spend looking for what you need. Your employees shouldn’t fear being crushed and suffocated by a mountain of paperwork before they’ve even started on their own work.
Keep it comfortable
Barring lunch breaks, your employees will likely spend their entire time at work sitting at their desks. To take precautions against back pain, headaches, and fatigue, you need to provide comfortable ergonomic chairs for every desk worker. The same is true if you have on-road staff; driving is one of the most stressful activities people do on a daily basis, and sitting for too long can lead to obesity, heart disease, and even cancer. To prevent this, sign your drivers up to vehicle ergonomic training so they know how to exercise their bodies to prevent cramping and injuries, and so you can ensure your drivers are always in peak condition. Make sure your on-road staff aren’t driving too many miles each day and encourage them to take short breaks to stretch their legs.
Secure building
Break-ins don’t just rob people of possessions, they rob them of their sense of safety and security. Make sure this doesn’t happen to your employees by installing alarms, locking up the building at night, and liaising with the building’s security team if you have one. No one should be able to get into the building outside office hours, except the people who work there.
Fire alarm drills
Holding regular fire drills might be annoying, but they will save lives if every member of staff knows where the nearest exit is, and is able to evacuate in a timely manner. You don’t need to have a fire drill every week, but you should definitely have them more than once a year. Emergencies can happen, and preparing for them ahead of time is vital.