Tips For Staying Safe at Work

You have to spend a lot of time at work. During your waking hours, it’s the place you spend most of your time. It’s also the place where you have to work with a number of other people and different kinds of equipment, depending on your specific job.

So it’s important to keep your wits about you and try to avoid the risk of any kind of personal injury happening.

So what can you do to make sure you stay safe at work?

Stay healthy

If you have a physical job where you’re on your feet most of the day, you’ll benefit from being as healthy as you can be. Take a look at your nutrition and your sleeping habits. If you’re keeping yourself on top form, this could see you perform better at work. And the better you’re feeling, the less likely you are to have an avoidable accident.

Stay curious

If you don’t know a certain aspect of your company’s safety policy, don’t be afraid to ask. You won’t regret asking a question if it keeps you safe, but you’ll definitely regret not finding out if you end up having an accident and suffering an injury as a result. It might be a good idea to request a written document from your employer detailing company safety policy.

Use protective equipment

If your company requires you to wear protective equipment, but doesn’t enforce the rule as strictly as it could, don’t let this affect your decisions. This equipment was created for a reason: to keep you safe. Let it do its job and you’ll keep yourself as protected as possible.

Take breaks

Spending too long on one task isn’t any good for anyone. Your concentration levels dip, and it’s at moments like this when accidents happen. All it takes is one momentary lapse of focus and you risk something horrible happening. It’s better to make sure you take regular breaks to help keep you awake and alert.

Be honest

If you think something is out of your comfort zone or you don’t think you could complete the task safely on your own, speak up. Make sure your supervisor knows that you need some help to get it done safely. Don’t just try to look good – this won’t do you any favours.

Report all injuries

No matter how small it may be, if you’ve suffered any kind of injury at work, make sure you report it to your employer. This will help the company address any minor issues that could end up bigger problems, boosting safety across the business.

Request training

If you think you or your colleagues could benefit from enhanced safety training, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Your employer is obliged to provide a safe working environment, so if you think they could do better, force them to.

Maintain posture

If your job involves more sitting than lifting or running, you could be at risk of bad posture. Your employer should provide you with an ergonomic work station to reduce the risk of posture-related injuries or repetitive strain injury.