Every workplace has its fair share of safety hazards. Even a seemingly completely safe and cozy office isn’t devoid of all kinds of potential dangers lurking in the background and putting unsuspecting employees at risk of tripping over a loose carpet or slipping on the wet floor.
But, factory and construction workers are at far graver risk when they’re working, right?
While it’s true that the potential for injury is far greater when you’re around massive machinery or when you’re working at heights, the National Safety Council warns that office workers are 2.5 times more likely to suffer a disabling fall than non-office workers.
But what does all that have to do with HR?
The connection starts making sense if we bear in mind that 104,000,000 production days were lost due to work-related injuries in 2016.
Here’s what HR should do in order to improve workplace safety.
Emphasize the Importance of OSH During the Recruiting and Hiring Process
Health and safety standards should be part of your company culture, and it’s essential to emphasize this throughout your recruiting and hiring process.
The people you hire should be capable of performing their job professionally and in compliance with health and safety standards.
It’s a common misconception that maintaining a safe and motivating workplace is mainly management’s responsibility, but the truth is that employees play an important role too.
For example, leaving boxes and other bulky items piled in walkways poses a tripping hazard, so your new employees should be made aware that storing all materials properly is something that they will have to pay attention to.
And it’s up to HR to communicate, administer, and promote safety policies and make sure that everybody’s on the same page and following the safety guidelines.
Establish Communication Between Management and Employees
Given that HR acts as an intermediary and facilitates the communication between the employees and the organization’s authority, this department is responsible for making sure that all the issues that the employees face are heard by the management.
Also, as only a satisfied and healthy employee is a productive employee, HR has to take care that all the requirements for the employees’ wellbeing are met.
Technical details such as providing proper lighting, adequate temperature, air quality, electrical safety, and fire protection may not be a direct responsibility of the company’s HR officers, but ensuring that all the health and safety procedures and protocols are in place is.
Health and safety compliance requires hiring different consultancies and companies which will, for example, conduct audits and risk assessments, suggest improvements, install fire ducts, or repair electrical equipment.
HR should be the link between these external advisors and the employees so that all the relevant information is exchanged.
Have the Right Procedures in Place
Once the safety assessments have been completed, a workplace safety plan can be created.
Although this part of the process doesn’t fall under HR’s responsibilities, this department still has to be heavily involved in implementing and monitoring the safety plan.
It’s HR’s duty to:
- take care that the values are respected and that the safety protection program is taken seriously;
- communicate the importance of occupational safety and health to management from both a legal and business perspective;
- inform the employees about their rights – if they notice unsafe work practices and procedures that are not in line with the adopted safety policies, they should be allowed to report these issues openly, as well as to refuse to work without any repercussions, until these issues are solved;
- ensure that the investigation of an accident is properly conducted, as that will prevent similar accidents in the future.
Ensure That Employees Understand How Workplace Safety Affects Them
Many people take workplace safety for granted.
HR should be working on raising awareness that workplace safety is an individual responsibility and that it benefits each person in the company.
In other words, you need to make sure that they understand what’s in there for them.
Issues such as absenteeism, compensation claims, or sick time have a profound effect on all the involved parties – managers have to find temporary replacements and go through a complicated onboarding process, the bottom line suffers too, while employees have to deal with an increased workload.
Needless to say, all these challenges impact overall productivity and bring about additional stress in the workplace.
By letting your employees know all this, you can prevent these negative outcomes.
Educate and Train Employees on the Topics of Safety and Wellbeing
HR is supposed to make sure that their company invests in proper training and education of the employees about safety and health in the workplace.
It’s of vital importance that the staff knows how to prevent different accidents, injuries, and work-related health problems.
While adhering to safety procedures seems like a no-brainer, in reality, many employees aren’t sure how to put all the tips and advice to practice and apply them.
Simply giving them the plan and instructions won’t do, as safety procedures need to be reinforced all the time, and that can be achieved through continuing education.
It’s the responsibility of HR to inform employees about educative programs that are available and make sure that they’re in attendance, especially when the latest safety measures and technicalities are introduced.
Encourage Overall Employee Wellbeing
Nowadays, the concept of health doesn’t refer just to one’s physical health – mental health is equally important.
It’s harder and harder for employees to leave their work behind when they come home.
Instead of that, a great majority of people check their emails and notifications obsessively and think about work during their free time.
Ultimately, this kind of behavior leads to stress, fatigue, and burnout.
No wonder that France has banned email after hours, and allow employees to disconnect and have time to themselves.
This issue affects HR in at least three ways:
- employees are more likely to take sick leaves caused by stress;
- tired employees aren’t productive and are more susceptible to injuries;
- burnout is one of the main reasons why employees quit.
In either case, HR has to recruit, hire, and onboard new employees and replacements, and streamline the whole process all over again.
So, encouraging your employees to relax and disconnect when they’re not at work, as well as prompting them to maintain a healthy lifestyle is also a role that HR can perform effectively.
That can be done by offering a gym or swimming pool subscription, telecommuting or flextime, and an occasional day off. These inexpensive perks can do wonders for the health, productivity, and satisfaction of your employees.
HR executives and officers need to work closely with OHS professionals in their company and actively participate in maintaining workplace safety.