Every workplace has various kinds of potential hazards to its employees. The range of possible safety risks ranges from milder office hazards to life-threatening work-related injuries. But the more immediate dangers that can happen everywhere are gas fires, chemical spills, or electrical short circuits.
Whatever business you’re in, you must minimize such hazards and keep your offices a safe and productive place for employees. This article covers the importance of maintaining a high workplace health and safety standard.
Reduced Cost Associated Workplace Maintenance And Injuries
According to Safe Work Australia, over 2500 deaths were recorded due to occupation-related incidents over the past decade, and that’s not counting the annual global average on workplace injuries and deaths.
Part of occupational health and workplace safety is cleanliness, and keeping your workplace clean reduces maintenance costs and office hazards like fungal growth, odor, and contamination. Thus, a professional cleaning company is the right choice for regular but high-quality cleaning services.
HMS Clean is one of the professional office cleaners in Perth, Australia. They offer commercial cleaning services highly affordable for various workspaces at affordable prices. Check out https://hcsclean.com.au/ for their list of cleaning services perfect for your office.
Awareness On Various Workplace Hazards
The risk of danger is present for everyone, and awareness of workplace safety allows you to determine the dangers your office may have. Depending on the industry, the following are potential hazard types that you may face when proper occupational health and safety standards are met.
Physical Hazards
These environmental factors lead to accidents like exposed wiring, wet floors, and unstable objects that can cause falls, cuts, and slips that are potentially fatal to the employee and operations. Other physical hazards are noise level, air pressure, and temperature.
Chemical Hazards
These are characterized by vapors or hazardous objects that may contact skin. Potential injuries include rashes, allergic reactions, burns, respiratory complications, and more. Chemicals like cleaning products, petroleum, and acids should be kept in check, and optimal storage conditions.
Using Personal Protective Equipment and airtight containers is vital for preventing leaks and securing the working space. Your local poison control center’s contact numbers should also be nearby should anything happen.
Biological Hazards
Biological hazards are referred to contaminated objects or areas, sewage leaks, mold growth, bodily fluids, and bacterial and virus outbreaks. Pests like infectious rats and insects are also biological hazards.
Depending on the industry you’re working in, the use of PPEs or Personal Protective Equipment and strict disinfection protocols are vital in minimizing exposure to hazards and promoting health.
Ergonomic Hazards
Ergonomic hazards put a strain on one’s physical body. Improper regulations with physical labor or machinery may affect one’s posture from awkward or improper movement. Potential dangers are muscle sprains, ruptured discs, or fractures resulting in medical rehabilitation or amputation.
Psychological Hazards
High-stress jobs increase the chance of depression, concentration issues, fatigue, and psychological breakdowns. This hazard can lead to employee harassment, morale issues, and reduced work safety and product quality. Prolonging this hazard can further lead to fatal injuries and other workplace hazards.
Well-Maintained Workspaces Saves Money
Supporting the statement above, accidents directly impact an employee’s lifestyle and the company’s resources. Unsafe workplaces can easily incur millions of losses due to disrupted operations and non-fatal to fatal employee injuries. In most cases, the company must cover hospitalization costs and other legal proceedings due to these accidents.
Promotes Investment Opportunities
A safe workplace is the industry standard that most investors look into. Cleanliness and peak safety policies ensure that work operations remain consistent and employees are productive. Another reason for this is your work reflects the values of your company.
So if your business is focused on quality and consistent services or products, make sure that this reflects your offices, and you might as well impress potential investors to your business.
Promotes Employee Morale
Employees are the backbone of every successful company in any business and office. They handle most operations, and their high morals ensure peak productivity. Employees want to feel safe in working conditions, and unregulated hazards or accidents can plummet their morale.
Imagine this, if you have a car modeling business and are prone to injuries due to the lack of cleanliness and proper safety policies, employees would think twice about working in that office and might consider looking for another company.
Simply put, employees with low morale cannot perform their duties properly, eventually increasing attrition. As a company, emphasizing keeping your best employees in high spirits is as important as your profit and scalability,
Final Thoughts:
Occupational Health and Workplace Safety are essential in every workplace. Every successful business has a high health and safety protocol standard that ensures every employee feels safe and productive. And in the event of a potential hazard, they come equipped with the proper equipment and protocols to contain and remove the hazard.