Employers are responsible for ensuring the health and safety of their employees on the job. They establish protocols and ensure that the workplace adheres to standards.
However, no matter how many risks and hazards employers reduce, accidents will continue to occur if workers do not accept responsibility for their actions.
Safety is a collaborative endeavor. One irresponsible employee can endanger not only himself but also other employees. Consider that employee collisions are one of the leading causes of workplace injury: one person colliding with another or an employee colliding with an object. This is most likely due to someone being distracted or simply not paying attention.
A trip and fall is another prevalent cause of workplace accidents. The two most common causes are, once again, someone not paying attention or poor housekeeping: individuals tripping over objects that haven’t been properly placed.
These and most other common workplace injuries can be easily prevented if workers are more observant and careful about keeping the workplace safe. Workers must understand and take their part in ensuring a safe and healthy workplace seriously at all times. Safety is always the top priority.
What exactly is employee safety?
Employees are legally entitled to work in a safe place. Every effort must be made by an employer to keep the workplace as safe as possible. Some hazards can not be totally removed, so all precautions should be taken to decrease the likelihood of injury.
Employee security entails the following:
Suitable and continuing safety training Well-maintained machinery with adequate protective guards
Being furnished with the necessary safety equipment
Toxic chemical protection
The capability of reporting any harm.
Your employees’ role in workplace health and safety
Although employers have a legal obligation to protect workers’ safety, as previously stated, employees also bear responsibility for workplace health and safety.
Employees are obligated by OSHA regulations to comply with the employer’s standards, rules, and regulations. Employees are obligated to wear safety equipment, PPE, and other safety devices provided by the employer for their protection.
It is vital that all workers believe they have the authority to carry out their responsibilities under the health and safety system. This requires not only adhering to protocols but also encouraging others to do so and having a trusted superior who will listen to ideas or complaints.
How to motivate employees to promote a safety culture
Provide health and safety training to all employees
Workers must be conscious of their own responsibilities when it comes to ensuring workplace safety, just as business owners and CEOs are aware of their commitments to their employees.
One successful method of motivating employees is to teach them excellent personal tactics that they may use on their own. Emphasize the importance of employee safety by giving new trainees health and safety training throughout their first week on the job.
Encourage employee participation and engagement
Employee engagement and participation are critical components of building and growing a healthy safety culture in your business. Employee job satisfaction, productivity, and corporate performance improve when the workplace is healthier and safer.
Involve your employees in creating a safer, risk-free workplace. Encourage them to come up with practical methods to improve safety. Workers are on the floor every day, which puts them in a perfect position to detect danger.
Employee-suggested solutions are frequently simple, effective, cost-effective, and simple for businesses to implement. Encourage employees to get active and speak up about the workplace safety concerns. Request that they tell you what works and what doesn’t. Remind employees that by reporting dangers, they are making their workplace safer for themselves and their coworkers.
Appoint representatives for health and safety
CEOs and business owners are not constantly present in the workplace and hence are not aware of new hazards that may occur. Information about safety hazards must be passed on to those in power, which some employees are hesitant to do for a variety of reasons.
Employees can share their concerns with a health and safety representative in confidence and discreetly (and, if required, anonymously). The representative, who acts as a trusted intermediary between the CEO or owner and the employee, can communicate these concerns to the employer at regular meetings to ensure that employee health and safety is always a top priority.