It doesn’t matter how many safety guidelines are in place at your place of work, they’re not going to do you any good if you are not aware or trained on how to follow those guidelines. When you go to your job, your employer has an obligation to keep you safe and make sure that you are healthy. It’s not just to be nice, it’s the bare minimum of being an employer. If you don’t feel safe in your working environment, you need to speak to somebody about that and not wait around.
Safety standards are in place for good reason, and you can read more about why it’s so important for you to be safe in the workplace. When you follow the workplace safety tips your bosses put in front of you, you can avoid injury, work safely, and make sure that you are healthy in your workplace for longer. Whenever you don’t feel that way, you have to speak to your HR team and your boss so that they are aware of the issue. They cannot make changes to the health and safety of your workplace unless you speak up and say so. Below, we put together for tips that you need to be safe at work.
- Always be aware of your surroundings. Every single job site – whether it’s a trading job site or an office – has its own dangers. Whether it’s heavy machinery, or tripping over the plant that somebody hasn’t placed back in the right spot, you need to know how to keep yourself safe. If you are aware of your surroundings, you’re going to be able to avoid potential hazards and alert everybody else to them. You have to remember that workplace safety is a team effort and you have to keep your other colleagues safe just as much as they will be keeping you safe.
- Watch that slouch. You are not a prawn, which means you are not designed to be constantly curled over. When you’re in the office and you’re sitting for a long period of time during the day, you need to consider your posture. To be safe at work, you also need to be comfortable. Your boss is supposed to make sure that your workstation is ergonomic, and that you have a comfortable chair that suits your body shape. Keeping the correct posture is not always easy to do, whether you are lifting boxes, or typing. Make sure that you are doing all that you can to maintain a good posture and avoid back problems, neck pain and even issues in your hands and wrists like carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Take breaks. You are not designed to sit and stare at a computer screen for eight hours a day, so make sure that you are taking regular breaks and moving your body around the office. There is a reason that OSHA has put breaks in place – and it’s to do with your health and safety. Get outside, breathe some fresh air, and get on your feet.
- Do the job properly. If you are working in a busy manufacturing environment, the worst mistake you could make is cutting corners. You can implement this tactic at pretty much every worksite, and by avoiding cutting corners and by doing the job properly, you’re going to keep yourself safe in your workplace.
