Workplace safety should be a priority for companies worldwide. Safe workplaces are also productive, and as organisations struggle to maintain their performance, in-office safety has become essential.
If you’re an employer, make workplace safety and injury prevention your priority because it’s important for employee health, wellbeing, productivity and morale. Suppose there’s an increase in the number of workplace accidents. In that case, your workers’ productivity and morale can decrease rapidly because they’ll feel less inclined to give their best for an employer that doesn’t value their wellbeing. This can damage your company’s bottom line and make it challenging to attract a talented workforce.
When you have a well-crafted accident prevention program, you can prevent and reduce employee illness, injury, and death rates, boost workers’ performance, improve their motivation and morale, and lower absentee rates.
Let’s define workplace safety
Workplace safety, often known as occupational health and safety, refers to providing a safe working setting, policies, equipment, and procedures to ensure workforce safety and health.
Over the last years, worker safety has become the primary concern for companies. Employees are now aware that they can file claims when they experience workplace injuries and hire solicitors to help them get compensation for their injuries and financial loss. The pandemic also highlighted the importance of creating a safe working environment because it proved that the working environment could encourage the spread of illness. Companies have the moral obligation to ensure their employees benefit from safe working conditions. Also, an unsafe workplace can have legal and financial consequences.
The Hartford Financial Services Group ran a survey and found that 58% of blue-collar households have a family member who suffered injuries that required medical treatment at the workplace.
The importance of preventing injury in the workplace
Workplace safety has a significant impact on an organisation’s KPIs. To put it in simpler works, a safe work setting hosts fewer accidents, fewer occupational health costs, less worker downtime, great employee satisfaction and retention, and improved performance.
Let’s check a detailed list of benefits organisations have when they make workplace safety a priority.
Organisation branding and reputation
Organisations that neglect to invest in workplace safety, quickly gain the reputation of providing an unsafe working environment, which can significantly impact their branding and ability to attract talent. Also, its competitors, clients, partners, and the general public will define it as unprofessional. Consequently, the most skilled employees search for jobs with their competitors, and no talented candidates apply for their open positions.
Worker productivity
When employees feel safe at their workplace, they give their best to be productive and complete their tasks in time. On the other hand, workers who have been injured in their working setting develop a level of fright and anxiety and don’t perform at the desired standards. Organisations should eliminate workplace hazards to encourage employees to stay invested in their tasks and do their best. It’s the only way to maintain and improve performance.
Company finances
Research shows that for every dollar a company invests in worker safety, it gets 4 dollars in return on its investment. It shouldn’t be surprising because if an employee gets injured at their workplace, they can deal with great financial trouble. Regulations require all companies to follow a set of guidelines in creating safe working settings. Not following them can trigger legal and financial losses that can bankrupt a company.
Employee retention
People appreciate safe workplaces as they consider it a sign that the company cares about its employees’ wellbeing and invests in maintaining them satisfied and healthy. The workers who feel safe and appreciated at work are more loyal to their employers and stay longer within the company. On the other hand, when they don’t feel safe and are constantly in danger of getting injured, they’re more likely to search for new jobs and provide negative reviews.
How can organisations promote a safety culture?
The best thing a company can do is promote and encourage a strong workplace wellbeing and safety culture. For the companies that don’t have the option of a work-from-home arrangement, here are some examples of how they can create a safe and healthy work setting for their employees.
Maintain an orderly space
An orderly workplace implies no hazards and mess that can cause injuries and health issues. It benefits the employees because it improves their safety, happiness, and productivity. All organisations should address this area in their accident prevention plan and create a section discussing developing and maintaining an orderly working setting. Everyone needs to cooperate in maintaining the workplace hazard-free.
Education and training
By offering education and training to their workers, companies show their commitment to their safety and wellbeing. The action fosters trust in the organisation and improves its reputation among candidates. When workers are trained on how to maintain workplace safety and health, they’re more likely to embrace a safety culture and promote it to other workers. Periodic onsite training sessions can reinforce employee safety and safeguard the company’s reputation and wellbeing in the future.
Everyone should get involved in making the workplace safer
The key to creating a robust culture of safety in the workplace is to involve everyone. This enables companies to establish effective accident prevention protocols that align with their employees’ tasks. Taking this approach can make the workforce more enthusiastic about getting involved in keeping the work environment hazard-free because they feel appreciated when their employers consult them instead of imposing a system they must follow.
Encourage a culture of wellness
Organisations should encourage their workers to maintain healthy wellbeing if they want their performance to improve. They can do this by being examples because they cannot ask their employees to care for their health and safety if the leaders fail to do so. Action speaks louder than words, and therefore employers should rather show than tell their workers how to act. They can also create programs that have the purpose to boost employees’ health and supports their careers.