Safety is a key concern around any workplace. When sickness, an injury or any type of major accident occurs, this can put one or more of your workers out of commission. This, in turn, slows down operations, and this leads to lost profits for you and your employees alike. Ensuring your workplace is as safe as can be tends to help eliminate such profit destroying problems for your entire company. Here are five safety policies that must find their way into your employee guidelines.
Clean Your Area
Lack of general cleanliness is one of the leading causes of sickness spreading throughout your company. Areas of the workplace that are not clean become breeding grounds for germs and viruses. Door knobs, pens, telephone receivers and virtually any surface should be cleaned on a regular basis. Your company’s policies should outline the frequency at which regular cleaning is done to ensure a major outbreak of flu or other illness does not take out the majority of your workers for long periods of time.
Do Not Clutter Aisles and Entrances
Aisles and entrances are the general walkways that people use to access your building. If they are cluttered, this can not only cause a safety hazard, but it can also prohibit your customers and clients from being able to access your business. In the case of a fire, a blocked entrance can trap employees and customers alike inside your company’s building. This is certainly a ruling your policy manual should contain to prevent an incident like this from showing up on the evening news.
Wear Required Safety Gear
When doing a job requiring an employee to wear specified safety gear, it is important to make sure your company policies and guidelines for employees stress just how mandatory this practice is. It is important to also state the penalties for violating this particular company policy. The idea here is to avoid as many workers’ compensation lawsuits as possible to ensure your company is not being overrun with litigation issues.
Eat in Designated Break Areas
Another safety policy that should be more strictly enforced in your company guidelines is rules concerning where an employee is allowed to eat. Designated eating areas make it easier to keep your company clean of crumbs and other food particles. Food particulates will undoubtedly attract roaches, rats, and other pests. These pests can carry disease, create allergies and be a general nuisance affecting the operations of your business in a negative way.
No Pets Allowed
People have this strange notion that their pets should be allowed anywhere they go. Unless an employee has a designated service animal for a particular disability, then such animals should not be allowed on company property. Not only can pets carry diseases that can be contracted by humans, but many pets are themselves a bite risk. The last thing your company needs is a lawsuit because one employee’s dog bites another employee. Having a section in your company guidelines explaining why pets are not allowed is appropriate and will help your employees understand why pets are an unnecessary risk to both your company and its employees.
Conclusion
Sickness and injury can come in all shapes and sizes. As the owner of a company, it is your duty to keep your employees as safe as humanly possible. It is also critical to keep the safety of your business intact in the process and avoid unnecessary lawsuits along the way. By outlining specific rules for safety in your policy manual, you will be taking measures that help your employees to know how they can work with you to accomplish these mutually beneficial goals.
