Health and safety in the workplace is everyone’s responsibility. The more engaged your employees are in the process, the more invested they are in the outcome – resulting in a safer workplace. There are several ways of speaking to your employees about health and safety that can benefit the company as a whole.

Identifying Potential Risks

Your employees are on the front lines every day, often making them the best people to identify and understand the particular risks associated with their workplace. Inviting open communication regarding health and safety empowers employees to speak up when there are potentially unsafe working conditions without fear of reprisals. This makes the workplace safer for everybody and builds trust that you as an employer care about the health and safety of the people who work for you.

Increased Productivity

A safer workplace is a more productive workplace. Reduced accidents lead to increased worker productivity as more time is spent on the job, and less time is spent away from the job and on paperwork. Employees that are injured, or calling in sick to avoid unsafe situations slow down the team.

Reducing Absenteeism

Employees that don’t feel safe on the job are more likely to call in sick due to stress-related illnesses. And unsafe workplaces are more likely to have absences due to injuries caused by workplace accidents. Talking to employees about their joint responsibility to health and safety not only makes the workplace safer, but it also makes employees feel safer thus reducing absenteeism.

Increased Morale

Safe, empowered employees are happy employees. When everyone is working together towards the same health and safety goals, it benefits the overall morale of the workplace.

Save Money

All of these positive outcomes add up to cost savings. When you are paying out fewer sick days, and production is increasing, talking to your employees about health and safety is money in the bank.

It Makes You Look Good

Let’s face it, everybody loves an employer that genuinely cares about the well-being of their employees. It makes your employees want to work for you and your customers want to do business with you.

We live in a time where one wrong move can ruin a reputation with a tweet. Similarly, when word gets around that you take health and safety seriously and so do your employees, you will gain loyalty from customers that value your integrity. And they will talk about it.

Not to Mention… It’s the Law

Under the Ontario Health and Safety Act, for example, both employers and employees have specific duties to uphold to maintain the safety of the workplace, and it is your responsibility to educate them on this. Employee duties include:

• Using all personal protective equipment (PPE) as required
• Informing the employer of any dangerous or defective equipment
• Reporting any known hazards to your supervisor

Making your employees feel valued and included by getting them involved in health and safety can benefit your business. You will be able to better identify risks, increase productivity and so much more, while you remain in compliance with your province’s occupational health and safety legislation.

For more information or help implementing health and safety programs in your workplace, CONTACT US today.