Workplace Safety Rules That All Employees Should Follow
All organisations have safety rules and practices in place that help make the workplace a safer environment for everyone. From workers using dangerous equipment to regular office jobs, every workplace needs to be made as safe as possible.
Employees need to follow these practices and uphold the safety rules in place for them to be effective. Therefore, in this content piece, we will look at several general safety rules that might seem trivial but are critical for everyone’s well-being.
Safety at the Workplace
Employees need to feel safe to work effectively. While safety is first and foremost the employer’s responsibility, employees can also make it effective as long as those safety implementations are followed.
There are numerous benefits to upholding safety in the workplace, such as:
- Better productivity due to fewer accidents
- Higher morale overall
- Reduction in costs for injuries or damages
These factors are not a result of better safety but are certainly improved by it, and suffer if the workplace has frequent accidents or safety-related incidents.
Here are a few things safety practices that employees need to follow, and more importantly, understand.
Keep Your Workstation Clean
Whether it is an office job or someone who works with grinding wheels where dust and tiny particles are in the air, the workstation should be kept as clean as reasonably practicable. From removing spills to keeping your desk neatly organized, cleaner workstations are better for productivity, organization, and most importantly, safety.
Protective Equipment is Not Optional
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is mandatory if the work requires it. It might not seem necessary that an employee needs to be reminded to wear PPE at all times when working in environments necessitating it, but it is better to cover all basis.
Having employees wear protective equipment is not a choice the employer or employee makes. Rather it is a regulation enforced by the respective regulatory bodies of the country, state, region, etc. For example, the United States has the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) whereas the UK has the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Report and Safety Violation
Speaking of PPE rules, if safety regulations are violated, both employees and employers have a responsibility to report them to the relevant regulatory body. Oftentimes, it can be better to report it to these institutions rather than to your own company if safety violations occur regularly.
For example, employers have to make it clear to their workers that PPE is not optional, and may even face disciplinary action if proper safety rules aren’t followed.
Overworking is a Safety Hazard
No employee should work more than their allotted shift, and should not work continuously within that shift. Taking breaks is not just recommended, but can become a safety hazard if not done so. And yes, an employee suffering because of working too much is a safety hazard, because it can lead to them making mistakes in not just work, but following safety protocols properly as well.
Taking a break can relax the mind, clear your head, rejuvenate your body, and can even lead to better productivity and efficiency overall. If you are tired, especially when conducting a physical task, it is recommended to take a break from it and rest.
Follow the Procedures and Processes Thoroughly
In a rush to get things done, or even when things get too repetitive, some employees might want to skip parts of the process to spend less time on something. However, this is not recommended.
This can be especially daunting if an employee has too much on their plate at once. It is better to be organised and take things slow than be disorganised and get things done quickly. Both employees and employers need to work on this aspect, so it is not just one side that is responsible for it.
Safety Policies and Plans Should Never Go Unread
Many employees tend to disregard even going through a company’s safety policy, or even the policies regarding workplace behaviour. From being aware of sexual harassment policies to safety in conducting dangerous work, the proper etiquettes need to be followed, and doing so requires that employees stay up to date on them.
Employers should also keep employees informed by always having this information readily available, and conducting bi-annual awareness sessions for them.
Fire Safety Rules
Fire safety rules are important. Not just because they save lives, but because little things can lead to so much less damage to life and property overall. Even something as simple as leaving a fire door open can create numerous safety hazards.
To keep employees aware of these safety issues, employers need to conduct regular fire awareness training, fire door inspection training, and similar sessions to keep employees well informed, in addition to regular fire drills every 3-6 months.
Conclusion
Employees need to be aware of workplace safety, and follow those procedures, for them to be effective. Here we have discussed various safety basics that can easily go ignored in any workplace, and the importance of upholding them.
