With the help of the NSC and all of their life-saving tips, we are practicing safety all month long. They offer weekly safety topics that are updated every year in honor of National Safety Month, making this month-long observance perfect for business owners looking to brush up on their safety knowledge! We want to prevent your business from becoming a statistic and keep your employees safe, this month. Keep reading to learn how you can keep your business hazard-free. 

Week 1

To kick off National Safety Month, this first week is all about preventing incidents before they even begin. Identify risks and be proactive about implementing safety measures to reduce hazardous exposure.

Week 2

Now that we have prevention under our belts, week two brings us to the timely issue of ongoing COVID-19 safety concerns in the workplace. We are still in the midst of a pandemic, which gives employers a very important role to play in regards to physical workspaces. When it comes to on-the-job accidents, stress and the resulting distraction it causes plays a key role in missteps and fatal mistakes. Employers are encouraged, this week, to build trust in the workplace. Promoting social distancing, making employees aware of their allotted time off for illness, and the importance of vaccines and mental health all play a positive role in the workplace. Reducing your employees’ stress during this volatile time will pay off in the safety of your company for both the short and long term.

Week 3

This week, the focus is on feeling safe at work. If you run a small business, you probably know all about the codes and requirements that go into providing a physical workspace for your employees. But this week’s focus is more emotionally based. How much freedom do your employees have to speak freely about their job? This week, we are highlighting the negative impact that fear of retaliation has on a workplace. If employees do not feel safe to speak up regarding their personal safety while at work, more and more accidents are bound to occur. Additionally, are you creating an environment where employees feel safe to discuss their psychological safety? Whether it be chronic or acute mental health issues, they all play a role in the flow of business, so make sure your employees feel safe to discuss anything that may have an impact on their safety during business operations.

Week 4

Create a plan. Now that you’ve evaluated risks at home and at work, it’s time to advance your safety journey with an actionable plan for both spaces. Some ways you can do this are by providing a fire-safety course at work, creating an evacuation plan that everyone knows, practice that plan regularly, and open the floor to suggestions regarding hazard minimization. Make sure everyone has a voice, and you’ll be well on your way to cultivating a safe and healthy workplace.