How to improve my employees' work safety?

Worker well-being is critical in the workplace for safety reasons and because numerous studies have shown that improving health and safety can boost productivity and profits.

And while each workplace has its requirements, there are some fundamental things that employers can do to foster a proactive safety culture within their organizations.

Provide comprehensive workplace safety training—first aid, fire safety, cyber security, and so on. Consider what an employee will need to be as safe and comfortable as possible in addition to basic training. Not all workers require extensive training in first aid, but a basic understanding is sufficient. Activity depends on the work environment; for example, a construction worker may need to learn about machine safeguarding, whereas an office worker is unlikely to. Workers in industries such as finance or banking, on the other hand, may benefit from cybersecurity training. Don't skimp on the proper training.

Inform new hires about the company's workplace safety policies. While some procedures are universal (though actual requirements may differ from province to province), new employees should be educated on how things work in their specific environment. This is important for employee well-being and may also prevent potentially disastrous miscommunications in the future.

Make employee safety information available. It's great to compile a list of important safety information, but it's only useful if employees have access to it. Make the information as clear and accessible as possible to employees. If you work in a multilingual environment, ensure the information is available in the language(s) spoken by the workers (and if possible, for employees with visual impairment, information should also be available in braille – or as an audio recording).

Examine the workplace environment. Regular inspections are a critical component of workplace safety. It ensures that the workplace runs smoothly and identifies areas for improvement. Inspections are a proactive way of keeping track of changes that need to be made in the workplace.

Maintain a clean work environment. As we saw during COVID, workplace cleanliness is essential. For worker health, proper hygiene is necessary. It is crucial to client/patient well-being in settings such as hospitality or healthcare.

Display labels and signs. Similarly, keeping workplaces clean requires using at least one or two chemical products. A Safety Data Sheet must be owned and easily accessible for any of these products. To make safety information available to employees, signage must be clear, visible, and understandable to all employees.