It’s a law – workers are required to be secure at work. If they’re not, for instance, in Australia, the consequences could be severe. Inability to consider security seriously in the workplace is a failure to think about the workers who work with you. Businesses are able to get away with it when the only consequence is a hefty fine. In addition to the evident legal matters and moral obligations. Who would want to be held accountable for someone’s death or injury?
On the other side of the spectrum, there are great benefits from showing your concern for the well-being of your employees. People are more inclined to be positive and are motivated to be pleasing to people who are supportive and care for them. It’s human nature. To achieve this, however, there will require some mental shifts. Let’s take a look at the most important ones:
1.) Be proactive in ensuring security in the workplace
Management doesn’t consider them essential, and this creates a negative image. Do not wait until an accident is happening to ensure that you take your safety obligations seriously. If you’re not proactive, you’ll end up responding to events when they occur – and you’ll be confident that in the event that you’re not aggressive with your security, accidents will happen. A proactive approach allows you to stop instead of reacting.
2.) Incentivize by rewarding safety-related attention
Do you give a reward to the moral or legal obligation? Yes. Tips don’t need to be financially based. It could be an acknowledgement of your work colleagues—a friendly declaration of a good job or a token of appreciation for an accomplishment. Inspire and reward the spirit of engagement in making sure that the workplace is safe. You can be sure that you’ll be able to reduce accidents or deaths.
3.) Create a value-based business system that places safety as an essential element.
What are your company’s objectives and goals? To increase revenues? To reduce costs? To increase competitiveness by hiring and keeping the top talent? The positive news is that security at work is a vital component of the above objectives. Employees are more likely to improve their productivity when they feel that the company is caring for their interests. The most successful employees are attracted to employers who are trustworthy and look for them. Your business could avoid costly penalties that can add to the cost of running a business if it is able to be safe from accidents or, at a minimum, prove that it has done all humanly feasible to minimize the likelihood of accidents at work happens. If safety is not a top priority and isn’t connected to other goals of the business, and if management doesn’t follow through, the risk of accidents won’t occur.
4.) Bring the whole team on board it
One person isn’t able to ensure the safety of a workplace and security. It’s everyone’s responsibility. Make it part of the job description of every one. Encourage active participants to participate in the safety prevention program. From the managers at the top, who decide budgets and set goals and priorities, all the way up to the most minor paid employees who are able to detect “an accident that is waiting to occur” Everyone has a responsibility to speak out, safeguard each other and ensure safe the norm.
5.) Prevention is always better than cure.
Insanity and indifference have no place in an environment committed to ensuring the safety of its employees. Prevention is always better than treatment. Do not wait for the incident to occur; take action and prevent it from happening when it happens. If your employees are united and everyone knows it’s appropriate to discuss the possibility of hazards, you will create a safer workplace for all employees.
If your company decides to create a safety guideline, be sure that it has a suggestion box as well as an audit program. Getting ideas from your employees is usually the best method to establish preventative measures. Who knows your workplace better than employees who work there? For an audit, you can use them to track progress and improvement and can be a powerful instrument to show your employees that their suggestions are being considered (thus increasing productivity). Individuals who aren’t concerned about their personal welfare as well as the wellbeing of those around them – do not care about their work and the standard of work. It’s time for those employees to find a new employer.
