Ensuring employee safety in the workplace is one of the best things entrepreneurs can do to ensure the growth and profitability of their businesses. Ensuring employee safety will also go a long way in protecting your brand reputation. After all, no one wants to work in an environment where their safety is threatened or not guaranteed. Here are six ways to ensure your employees feel safe in the workplace.
1. Have Strict Policies on Workplace Discrimination
While many may not know, workplace discrimination is a common phenomenon in many places around the world. It is among the things that scare away employees from working for some companies. Under the employment law, no employee should be discriminated against based on their race, color, sex, religion, age, or disability. In the US, this is contained under the 1964 Civil Rights Act Title VII. In line with the sentiments of attorney Jonathan Street, a victim of workplace discrimination can sue you for compensation as the employer. Such individuals may also claim reliefs like job restoration, benefits restoration, and job search costs in case they were wrongfully terminated or demoted.
It is, therefore, your responsibility as an employer to set measures and policies to guard against workplace discrimination. Creating this kind of positive work environment can help your employees to feel safe in your company.
2. Safe Machinery and Equipment
Employees have a fair share of the company’s performance, and this is sometimes determined by how well their resources work. A conducive work environment is paramount for every employee in any organization. To be more specific, the machinery and equipment supplied in the workplace should guarantee employee safety. Regular checks and maintenance should be done to ensure that everything is working as it should. Also, only trained and well-equipped personnel should be authorized to play complex or high-risk equipment.
As you may have guessed, safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, gloves, and helmets, may also fall in this bracket. If the workplace involves high-risk equipment, an occupational safety insurance or workplace injury policy should be in place.
3. Give Room for Mistakes
Emotional safety is the least of considerations when it comes to workplace comfort. An abusive boss, a depressed manager, or an extremely harsh HR can make the work environment a nightmare. Emotional stability affects work performance. On the other hand, a supportive approach will not only grow the work performance of your employees, but it will also help improve their self-esteem. It gives the employees motivation to know that they are safe and will be supported even if they make small mistakes while delivering on their duties. However, it is also important to make it clear what circumstances could follow if a staff member makes a huge blunder.
4. Staff Protective Gear
As earlier highlighted, some occupations may require more than just a formal dress code. Safety boots, full-body suits, hard hats, gloves, and eye protection shades are only a few of the personal protective equipment and clothing required in certain occupations. The importance of PPEs has become quite an apparent phenomenon amid the COVID pandemic. Besides formal education and professional knowledge, employees should be educated on the right fittings and use of protective gear. Having the proper attire but putting it on the wrong way is as bad as not having it at all.
5. Encourage Communication
Communication! Communication! Communication! The word carries a lot of substance in all aspects of life. It can build or demolish relationships both at work and at home. At the workplace, employees should be allowed to offer feedback and air their opinions on various matters as they steer their daily bread wheel. To ensure the best performance at work, sentiments should be welcomed from employees, and different views should be respected. Give your employees the space to express openly. It gives them a sense of belonging, and above all, emotional security.
6. Risk Appraisal
What risks are there, and what can be done to deal with them? Sometimes it is necessary to hire a risk assessment company to access your work environment for safety so they can find or suggest the best solution for the hazard. Better still, you can involve your employees to cooperate in evaluating some of the risks surrounding them as they bubble their pots. It will help lower or deal with the threats before they lead to problems such as workplace injuries or employees leaving the company for not feeling safe. At the end of the day, prevention is better than cure?
Finally, it is a great thing to celebrate your employees. No feeling is better than when your boss pats you in the back for a job well done. This can be through a salary raise, a job promotion, or a simple recognition in the morning meetings. We all have different strengths, and they come out better when appreciated and best when rewarded. With the few tips above, you can make your employees feel safer in your company. This will eventually translate to increased productivity, profitability, and growth.
