Why Workplace Health and Safety Programs are Good for Business

Most companies recognize that protecting workers from workplace illnesses and injuries is the right thing to do. However, companies are now increasingly realizing that the benefits of a proactive health and safety program extend beyond moral responsibility. Evidence shows that taking care of your workers is overall good for business.

Promoting a culture of workplace health and safety can improve worker morale, increase productivity, and enhance your company’s bottom line. It can also help your organization combat the rising economic costs of injuries, which increased by 35% from 2004 to 2010 and are expected to increase up to $75 billion per year in Canada by 2035. Therefore, you should consider establishing a health and safety program that includes the resources and guidelines to meet your long-term financial goals and make your workers feel supported and valued on the job.

Cost Savings

Workplace injuries and illnesses can be one of your organization’s biggest expenses. Your costs can come in the form of medical bills, health insurance claims, disability payments, and worker’s compensation payouts. Depending on your insurance arrangement, each of these expenses can increase your claims experience, which means that the cost of coverage may increase with each new claim.

For example, according to Workplace Safety North, almost half of all hand injuries are due to cuts and puncture wounds. Most of these injuries could have been avoided or reduced with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE), and the costs of PPE for an entire team can be less expensive than just one hand injury. Ensuring that your workers have the proper PPE, including gloves, face masks, and protective eyewear, can help you avoid thousands of dollars in insurance compensation claims associated with workplace injuries.

In addition, strong health and safety practices will help you avoid recruitment and training costs for replacing an injured worker, as well as the legal expenses you may incur if you fail to protect your workers from injuries.

Increased Revenue

Having a workplace health and safety program can have a positive impact on your company’s bottom line by improving organizational performance. For example, absenteeism costs Canadian businesses billions of dollars per year. However, a workplace health and safety program can reduce your company’s absenteeism by decreasing the number of days of missed work due to injuries and illnesses. Having a full staff of workers will allow your organization to operate at full capacity.

Additionally, injuries and illnesses can reduce productivity when your workers are unable to perform at optimal levels due to their health concerns. This issue is called presenteeism, and a survey of human resources professionals at 94 mid-sized Canadian organizations identified it as a significant workplace concern. Therefore, it is important to make sure your workers follow the proper health and safety guidelines to maximize the amount of time your organization can perform at optimal levels.

By implementing a health and safety program that helps workers work more efficiently and consistently, you will also improve workplace morale, thus helping to solidify your organization’s positive reputation in your field as a morally and socially responsible employer.

Next Steps

It is clear that a workplace health and safety program is a worthwhile investment. Ignoring unhealthy and unsafe work conditions can lead to significant issues that could have been avoided by taking the proper precautions. On the other hand, an environment that promotes health and safety will lead to an organizational culture that supports the financial benefits of a health and safety program over the long-run.

Preventing illness and injury with a robust health and safety program will help both your employees and your bottom line, but is only one way to improve your business. Contact TeksMed today to learn about other ways to ensure that you’re not leaving any money on the table.