How safe is your office space?

Employee safety is one of the most important parts of a successful business.
Although an office may seem like a hazard-free space, accidents and injuries do occur.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 80,410 private-industry office and administrative workers suffered on-the-job injuries in 2008.
Recent statistics from AFL-CIO found that 4,628 workers were killed while working on a range of jobs in 2012, with an average of 13 deaths per day. In addition to these deaths, more than 3.8 million injuries and illnesses were reported as well, although this number is believed to be much higher due to difficulties in the reporting system.
The estimated costs of employee injuries and illnesses based on medical bills and loss of productivity is between $250 billion and $350 billion annually.
Keep your office employees safe with the following five tips:

• Ask employees what their concerns are: Spend some time every few months to ask employees about their job experience in terms of safety. Is there something that should be covered again? What about new hires? Keeping everyone on the same page in terms of safety is essential for a productive workforce.
• Conduct walkthroughs: Be sure to pay attention when walking through your office space. Are there boxes in the way? What about wires or open drawers? In addition, paying attention to employee ergonomics at their desk is also important, as it can affect their productivity throughout the day.
• Dim the lights: According to the American Optometric Association, the lighting in an office space should be kept at half of the normal brightness, as bright fluorescent lighting can cause serious sight issues in employees over time. In addition to the lights, keep computer screens free of glare.
• Establish a reporting system: Maintaining a safety reporting system is essential for worker safety. Consider starting an anonymous reporting system for workers to feel more comfortable coming forward with issues they have found.
• Keep it clutter-free: Be sure a workspace is clutter free, especially along walkways and exits. During an emergency situation clutter can be the cause of serious injuries.

MasteryTCN has a range of e-learning courses available to help keep your workers safe and ready for an emergency event. These include “Job Safety Analysis, Safety Awareness And You” and “Office Ergonomics”.
An important part of office safety is having an adequate safety analysis of the job area. During a job safety analysis (JSA), as mentioned above, a safety check is conducted to ensure a work area is secure and awareness is always kept at its highest standard.
Visit our website to learn more about our e-learning courses to help keep your workplace safe and productive.
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