If health and safety at work is the last point on your agenda – think again. There are many benefits to making sure your employees are healthy, happy and safe!
Big brother is watching
“Big Brother” is watching, although from a distance. “He” has put in place legislation (the Occupational Health and Safety Act − OHS Act) and many other regulations to force businesses to pay attention to the health and safety of their employees.
According to Section 8 of the OHS Act the employer must provide and maintain a safe work environment, free from hazards that can cause harm to people, property, processes, products and the environment.
The good news is that obeying the law also makes good business sense.
Benefits of workplace health and safety
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- It’s the right thing to do. Not only is it morally right but it will also keep the Department of Labour off your back and more importantly, show your employees you care about them.
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- You will save money. When an employee is injured on the job, it will cost the company! Not only will it cost the company lost man hours but also increased insurance costs, workers’ compensation premiums or even legal costs. The latter may cost you dearly if you have not put into place the proper precautions to ensure safety on the job site.
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- Productivity is lost when other workers have to stop doing their job to deal with the situation or are so traumatised by the incident that they need counselling or even to take time off from work.
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- Productivity gets a boost and profit margins rise when employees feel safe in the environment in which they are working. This is especially true if the company also puts into place an effective safety programme that is strictly adhered to. Safety gear and many reminders to be careful will show employees that you are serious about their safety. Humour often helps and posters that proclaim the following messages might just do the trick:
- There’s a fine line between “safe” and “sorry”. Don’t cross it.
- Working in a safe way means you will live to see another day.
- If you mess up, don’t hesitate to “fess” up.
- Productivity gets a boost and profit margins rise when employees feel safe in the environment in which they are working. This is especially true if the company also puts into place an effective safety programme that is strictly adhered to. Safety gear and many reminders to be careful will show employees that you are serious about their safety. Humour often helps and posters that proclaim the following messages might just do the trick:
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- Customer service will get a boost. Productive, happy employers who feel safe in their working environment can concentrate on serving customers to their best ability without distractions. After all, customers place a high premium on friendly, fast and efficient service.
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- Morale will be boosted. Employees who know that their employers are serious about workplace safety will more readily try to co-operate and work together as a team. To “earn” their trust employers need to have identified, assessed and truly understood the difficulties and possible risks inherent in certain jobs and have a clear health and safety policy with clear procedures in place. Nothing will boost morale more than a company with an accident-free record!
Sources
Health and safety advice pack for smaller firms. Retrieved from: http://www.rospa.com/occupational-safety/advice/small-firms/pack/why-important/
Redmond, J. Why workplace safety is Important. Retrieved from: http://safety.lovetoknow.com/Why_Safety_is_Important
Understanding health and safety liability. Retrieved from: http://www.safepractice.co.za/HealthandSafety/tabid/15127/language/en-US/Default.aspx