Every worker deserves to feel safe at their job. No matter what type of role people hold within their company, they play a part in ensuring a positive company culture. But how can you, as an employer, promote this type of work environment for your workforce? This question’s importance can’t be overstated; especially when there were 450,540 cases involving falls, slips and trips in the workplace alone, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Let’s look at what office training is and why it’s critical for every part of operations — from relational to production.
Office Safety Training: What It Is and Why It’s Important
Office safety training is the method your company uses to provide your workforce with knowledge and skills to perform their work as safely as possible while promoting safety to their co-workers. It also teaches employees about workplace hazards, safe working practices, emergency procedures and the proper use of equipment. The primary goal of workplace safety training is to prevent accidents, injuries and illnesses by promoting safety awareness.
Using an online safety training program is important due to a few different reasons:
Injury Prevention
Safety training gives employees a better understanding of their surroundings and the potential risks they face daily. It equips them with the skills necessary to identify and mitigate these hazards while at work, which can promote injury prevention — even for seemingly minor issues. The best training courses show workers where problems can occur, and teach them how to use equipment safely, handle possible hazardous materials and follow safety protocols.
Also, when employers are aware of the most common office hazards and how to avoid them, they can create a safer working environment that’s crucial for protecting their employees’ well-being.
Compliance With Regulations
Many jurisdictions have safety policies that employers must follow to remain compliant. For example, OSHA holds employers responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. This act states, “These requirements reflect OSHA’s belief that training is an essential part of every employer’s safety and health program for protecting workers from injuries and illnesses.”
Proper training ensures that your company remains in line with these laws, avoiding legal fines and penalties that can pause productivity and put financial strain on your team.
Increased Productivity
You may not put safety and productivity in the same category in your office, but they do go hand-in-hand. When you promote a safe workplace, employees feel secure in their environment, enabling them to feel more focused, motivated and efficient in their roles.
For example, a Kimberly-Clark facility experienced improved workplace safety measures across the plant, resulting in year-over-year productivity gains of 9.5%. Even though this facility isn’t an office environment, the fact remains that safer companies are generally more productive.
Protection of Company Reputation
By emphasizing safety within your office, you positively reflect your company’s reputation to customers, clients and stakeholders. Generally, these people are more likely to trust and engage with businesses that prioritize the well-being of their employees, making safety a top priority for your organization’s public image.
This is also beneficial for employee attraction and retention. People are drawn to companies where they’ll feel valued and taken care of. Additionally, employees tend to stay in places where they’re protected and given the resources and education they need to keep themselves and others safe.
Cost savings
Even though investing in high-quality training materials may not seem like a cost-effective business decision, it can end up saving your company money in the long run due to increased safety protocols and protective measures. Workplace accidents can add up quickly with medical expenses, workers’ compensation claims and increased insurance premiums all being expensive. With better office safety training, your workforce can reduce these costs by preventing injuries and promoting a safer work environment.
Common Office Hazards
While office environments may seem relatively safe compared to general industry and construction settings, they still come with their own sets of risks. Here are the top office risks your workforce needs to be aware of:
Slips, Trips and Falls
This is the most common hazard for a reason: they can be caused by pretty much anything. From unattended spills and wet floors to exposed cords, unstable work surfaces, loose rugs and cluttered areas, trips, slips and falls can occur in any type of workplace to even the most aware employee.
Ergonomic Office Equipment
Office workers spend most of their days sitting at a desk, working on a computer. This can cause ergonomic issues like aches, pains and other soreness that are difficult to detect before they get bad.
Manual Handling
Oftentimes, office workers must lift and move heavy objects like boxes of printer paper, files, computers and other office equipment. Without using proper lifting techniques, employees can get injured.
Fire Hazards
Fires can strike in offices, leaving tons of physical and financial damage and putting employees at risk. They’re often caused by power cords that haven’t been inspected in a while, overloaded power strips and other electrical safety hazards. Without the right fire safety training courses, workers are at a disadvantage.
Poor Lighting
Inadequate or improperly positioned light fixtures can cause eye strain, headaches and other vision-related problems. Additionally, staring at the blue light from a computer screen all day can also cause eye and head pain.
Noisy Environments
While this isn’t always the case for every type of work environment, some offices are very noisy due to machinery and other big equipment that’s necessary for production. Excessive noise levels can lead to hearing loss and other health issues.
Biological Hazards
Most offices are kept clean and employees maintain good hygiene. However, companies that don’t have proper waste disposal and expose employees to infectious agents can pose biological hazards, making it more likely for people to get sick.
Video Training Power Is Your Online Safety Training Solution
Your workforce deserves the best possible employee training program, which means not using the same methods used 30 years ago. Rather, invest in high-quality, on-demand training videos encouraging discussion and engagement with all workers.
Want to browse our office safety training video options? Get started with Video Power Training today.