Tips for Creating a Safe and Healthy Workplace

It’s true that if you keep your employees happy, your company’s overall productivity levels have the opportunity to at least double. Taking care of employees in a healthy work atmosphere will create a marked difference for everyone involved. There are no hard and fast rules that can change a work environment, but it’s also not rocket science. You need to have your own guidelines that fit specifically with your company’s goals and outlook. Need some guidance? Here are a few tips that can help you keep your employees and your company safe and healthy. 

1. Health first. If the work is office-based, then chances are your employees will fall into a sedentary lifestyle. Studies reveal than 1 in 4 employees that take timely breaks may decrease stress levels and musculoskeletal disorders. Make sure your employees take breaks when they should and spend their full lunch hour away from their desk. Offer health incentives like free of discounted memberships to the gym or yoga and fitness sessions in-office. Encourage your employees to bike to work if they can and to go for group runs in the mornings and evenings. In terms of healthy food – instead of candies and sweets, always have fresh fruits, vegetables, and granola bars on hand at the office.

2. Offer more flexibility. Some people are more productive working from home, while others need a few more hours of sleep in the morning and don’t mind staying a few hours later. Trusting that your employees know what’s best for them, is one of the best ways to boost morale and productivity. Also make sure that your employees take the necessary amount of vacation and don’t overwork themselves. This way they can take care of their mental and emotional health and return from a vacation feeling more productive than ever. In addition, you can provide support, mentoring, and even counseling sessions for your employees who are having troubles both in their personal and professional lives. This will let them know that you care about their well-being and want them to be the best person they can.

3. Accessorize well. The physical space that your employees spend 8-9 hours of their day in needs to be comfortable and low-harm. Clicking the mouse is a repetitive movement that can cause repetitive strain injury or RSI. Purchase ergonomic mice for each laptop, and also consider getting the most ergonomic chairs for your employee’s backs and necks. Encourage your employees to get flux, which will slowly dim the computer screen to match the indoor lighting. All of these features will minimize physical pain and risk of injury for your employees, thus creating a safer and more comfortable space.

4. Better working conditions. Ensuring an overall healthy and safe working conditions could be done by:

  • Enforcing proper and regular breaks
  • Allowing flexible working hours such as leniency with shift swaps and rostered offs
  • Limiting overtime and even workload
  • Bring in outside experts for safety talks and support sessions
  • Listening to their grievances and providing actionable solutions
  • Consenting to part-time work
  • Permitting study leaves or enrollment into professional developmental program.

4. Clearly-defined rules. Maintain the same rule for all employees across the board – for seniors as well as for juniors. Creating a disparity in the way you treat different employees will discourage teamwork and encourage a hostile, hierarchical system. Let everyone know about changes to any staff policy as this will keep things transparent between employers and employees.

Remember that a happy employee will be more thorough and engaged in their work. This will change the quality of the work culture in your organization so that you and your company will prosper in no time at all.