Workplace Health & Safety In The Office
Office environments should keep employees safe from chemical, equipment, workstation, physical and environmental hazards. Ideal office conditions allow employees to feel comfortable and work without needing to sit or stand too long. When exercised, workplace health and safety in the office causes less frequent employee absences due to work-related illnesses and injuries, and it lowers workers' compensation premiums.
Benefits
Employers reap overall cost savings because of workplace health and safety. For instance, workplace injuries lead to workers' compensation claims, which increase the premiums of workers' compensation insurance. According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an employee absence due a workplace illness or injury may call for a contracted employee to fill his position, which creates additional cost to the employer.
Types of Office Risks
According to NIOSH, physical, task-related, environmental or design-related hazards create the most workplace risks. Physical hazards include objects in walkways, wet walking surfaces or items falling from overhead. A task-related hazard involves repetitive movements, lasts a long time or poses an ergonomic risk. Environmental hazards are chemical or biological, and include disinfectant cleansers, aromas or bacteria. Examples of design-related hazards include nonadjustable furniture or equipment that causes strain on an office employee. Job-related stress is also a hazard, according to NIOSH---particularly when stress results in an employee's illness.
Risk Assessments
According to HSE, risk assessment in the workplace examines what could cause harm to an employee and evaluates whether the company has taken enough precautions to protect its employees from the risk. When evaluating workplace health and safety in an office, management should take the following steps after identifying a risk: determine who is in danger of sustaining an injury and how, decide what to do about the risk, record the results of the risk assessment, share them with other employees and conduct risk assessments periodically.
Work Schedules and Fatigue
Employee schedules affect workplace health and safety: Health and safety risks rise among employees with irregular work schedules. "Sleep" reports fatigued employees have weakened immune systems, feel more stressed and are more likely to cause office hazards because they are not as alert. To help employee fatigue and promote office health and safety, employees should maintain good sleep schedules and work with bright lights and low noise levels
Benefits
Employers reap overall cost savings because of workplace health and safety. For instance, workplace injuries lead to workers' compensation claims, which increase the premiums of workers' compensation insurance. According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an employee absence due a workplace illness or injury may call for a contracted employee to fill his position, which creates additional cost to the employer.
Types of Office Risks
According to NIOSH, physical, task-related, environmental or design-related hazards create the most workplace risks. Physical hazards include objects in walkways, wet walking surfaces or items falling from overhead. A task-related hazard involves repetitive movements, lasts a long time or poses an ergonomic risk. Environmental hazards are chemical or biological, and include disinfectant cleansers, aromas or bacteria. Examples of design-related hazards include nonadjustable furniture or equipment that causes strain on an office employee. Job-related stress is also a hazard, according to NIOSH---particularly when stress results in an employee's illness.
Risk Assessments
According to HSE, risk assessment in the workplace examines what could cause harm to an employee and evaluates whether the company has taken enough precautions to protect its employees from the risk. When evaluating workplace health and safety in an office, management should take the following steps after identifying a risk: determine who is in danger of sustaining an injury and how, decide what to do about the risk, record the results of the risk assessment, share them with other employees and conduct risk assessments periodically.
Work Schedules and Fatigue
Employee schedules affect workplace health and safety: Health and safety risks rise among employees with irregular work schedules. "Sleep" reports fatigued employees have weakened immune systems, feel more stressed and are more likely to cause office hazards because they are not as alert. To help employee fatigue and promote office health and safety, employees should maintain good sleep schedules and work with bright lights and low noise levels
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