Office accidents can happen. Although not the most dangerous workplace, it’s essential to understand the risks inherent in offices.
While the office might, by no means, be considered quite as dangerous as the warehouse or the construction site, to say that it’s free from the risk of accident, injury, and illness would be incorrect.
There are health risks present in every single working environment, and some of them can be more prevalent and more serious than you might think. Here, we’re going to look at the risk factors that you should be aware of in your office, and what you can do to make sure that they don’t pose too much of a threat to your team.
Table of Contents
Your flooring
One of the leading causes of injury, regardless of the type of workplace that you’re in, is the classic slips, trips, and falls. There are myriad factors that can contribute to these risks, some of which we will take a closer look at later, but the flooring is one of the biggest factors. In particular, floors that are wet after spills or recently being cleaned without a wet floor sign from stores like here are a significant risk. You also have to consider the material of the flooring itself and whether you need to replace it, be it a rug that acts as a tripping hazard or a floor that gets slippery a little too easily.
Your lighting
Ineffective lighting in the workplace can also cause a whole host of issues. There are tips here that can help you avoid a whole host of office lighting mistakes. You want to make sure that any walkways, be they in the office, the storeroom, or anywhere else on your premises have effective lighting to cut down on the aforementioned risk of slips, trips, and falls. Similarly, any spots that require your team to pick up or move objects should be well-lit to avoid a whole host of accidents. Investing in additional task lighting for the office can do a lot of good and cut off a wide range of entirely preventable accidents.
Sitting down all-day
A lot of office work is done directly in front of a monitor, sitting for hours on end. This can result in a lot of pressure being put on places like the back, shoulders, knees, and ankles, which can lead to ergonomic injuries. Teaching effective ergonomics and good posture can help, but the right equipment is going to make the most difference, with supportive ergonomic seating and sit-stand desks like those shown here being some of the very best tools to mitigate the risk. Of course, you should also keep an eye out and ensure that you remind your team to take a couple of minutes to get up, stretch, and walk, as well.
Eye strain
While it might not seem quite as serious as some of the other issues mentioned here, eye strain can be a serious pain to your team, and can make it difficult for workers to focus, even putting them out of commission for the rest of the day. Good light levels, as mentioned above, are important for mitigating eye strain, but you should also make sure that your team have the ability to control the glare and lighting in their environment so that they don’t have to squint and focus too much on their computer screens. Mandatory computer screen breaks can also play a big role in helping them keep their eyes healthy, and you can recommend that they bring and use eyedrops, too, or even make it part of your workplace budget.
Cleanliness and hygiene
The average office is, to be entirely honest, an ideal breeding ground for germs, bacteria, and viruses. Workplaces are where the majority of spreading happens during flu season and, while you should always expect it to some degree, you should also do your best to prevent it, both by hiring cleaning services on a routine basis, and by making sure that you have clear hygiene protocols, and provide things like hand sanitizer and desk cleaning wipes for your team to do their part. Any places where your team might walk should be kept clean, as well, ensuring that spills are wiped up as soon as possible and that no one is allowed to keep boxes or other items in walkways by their desks.
Air quality
It might not be something that you think about as much as the other risks, but poor air quality in the office can have a legitimate effect on the health of the team working within it. From poor ventilation of dust and other allergens to the use of chemical cleaning products, or bad airflow due to the overuse of stifling cubicle design, there are a lot of ways that bad air quality can manifest in the office. Time should be taken to address these risks, as this poor air quality can increase the rate of respiratory illnesses, affect the energy levels of your team, and greatly exacerbate any allergies, including asthmatic symptoms. Cleanliness, good ventilation, and making sure that cleaning chemicals aren’t used while people are in the office are all vital.
Fire safety
Offices are some of the most common places for fires to happen, whether it’s due to all of the electrical equipment in there, the vast amounts of paper and wood furniture often found in offices, or otherwise. When it comes to ensuring your fire safety, it’s always best to do it with the assistance of a professional. Hiring a fire safety audit team can help you get an idea of the different risks in the office, what you should be doing to mitigate them, and what you can do in the event of a fire, from having the right equipment installed to having a fire escape plan.
Stop Office Accidents In Your Company
It is every employer’s responsibility to do what they can to stop the workplace from affecting the health of the team. The tips above can help you do that, but it’s important to be fully aware of the risks that might be specific to your office, too.
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