The trend towards a remote workforce has certainly picked up steam in the past couple of years. With many businesses shifting to a remote workforce during the early days of the pandemic, employers were able to see the value in this kind of setup and have now transitioned to a remote workforce permanently.
How to Manage Health & Safety for Remote Workers?
Having your employees work remotely offers several great benefits, but there is still plenty to be mindful of. Just because your employees aren’t sitting in the office with you doesn’t mean healthy and safety shouldn’t be a concern.
Here are some of the most effective ways to manage health and safety for remote workers.
Conduct a Job Safety Analysis
It’s hard to address health and safety concerns if you haven’t identified what the risks are. Conducing a job safety analysis should be the first step in the process and needs to be done methodically.
Each aspect of the job needs to be broken down and analyzed, looking for any potential hazards, issues, and risks. From there you can start to figure out ways to reduce and even eliminate risk. You can use EHS management software to make this task easier and more effective.
Communicate Risks with Employees
Once you have identified potential risks, it’s time to communicate them to your employees. This can be done in a handbook-style file, a one-page guide, or even a checklist they can use to ensure their work setup is safe and ideal.
In the communication that you share with employees, be sure to point out what the risks are, why they are risks, and what can be done to reduce that risk. Employees should also feel comfortable speaking to you about any concerns they have. They may have issues you didn’t even think about.
Do Your Staff Members Have the Right Equipment and Office Furniture?
This is a great time to also approach the topic of equipment and furniture. There are pieces your employees need to be productive in a safe manner. This can include ergonomic furniture such as a desk chair, their desk, and even their keyboard, mouse, and mouse pad. Just as you would ensure their setup in the office was ideal, the same care needs to be shown to their home office.
Other issues to address in their home office include:
- Electricity, making sure they have enough outlets for all the equipment
- Lighting
- HVAC – both AC and heating
You should also ask if they have a dedicated space for working in; simply set up at the kitchen table is far from ideal.
Check In with Staff Regularly
Staff should know they aren’t alone even though they are at home. This means you need to check up on them periodically to make sure they are okay and that they feel connected. Ask if they have everything they need, and make sure they aren’t overworked or over-stressed.
Just because you may be transitioning to a permanent remote workforce doesn’t mean you stop worrying about their health and safety. Instead, it needs to take on a new tone and look at different criteria.
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