In the UK, employers have the primary legal responsibility to make sure their offices are safe places to work and visit. At ground level, business leaders, line managers, office and
building managers, employees and health and safety specialists need to work together to minimise office health and safety hazards.
This article suggests some ways to make sure offices are free from common hazards, so they remain both functional and safe for workers and visitors alike.
Trips and Falls
There are several different health and safety regulations that employers must adhere to when it comes to potential hazards in their office premises.
For example, any area in the office that is accessible to workers and visitors – including stairs, floors and corridors – cannot have any obstructions or hazards that could trip people over, such as cables and wires.
Should someone accidentally trip or fall and this was due to a failure to remove hazards in the office, the employer will be liable.
Regular Decluttering
One effective and very simple measure for protecting against office health and safety hazards is to declutter the office space. This can be achieved by consistent, professional cleaning, but also by strongly advising people to keep their workstation and immediate area clean and tidy – including people in shared and hotdesking situations. Encouraging individuals to take responsibility for removing unnecessary items from their desktops and keep the floor around their workstations clear reduces the risk of accidents.
A positive side-effect is the significant impact decluttering can have on employees’ moods. Studies have found that people work better with a tidy workstation.
Regular Decluttering
One effective and very simple measure for protecting against office health and safety hazards is to declutter the office space. This can be achieved by consistent, professional cleaning, but also by strongly advising people to keep their workstation and immediate area clean and tidy – including people in shared and hotdesking situations. Encouraging individuals to take responsibility for removing unnecessary items from their desktops and keep the floor around their workstations clear reduces the risk of accidents.
A positive side-effect is the significant impact decluttering can have on employees’ moods. Studies have found that people work better with a tidy workstation.
Check for Stray Cables
Cordless technology is increasingly prevalent in modern offices. Even so, office-based workers still rely heavily on power cords, charging cables and connectors to do their daily tasks. All these are potentially hazardous. Any such electrical wires can quickly become a trip hazard if left unattended, and could be even more dangerous if they’re live.
Therefore, it’s important to frequently scan the office space for loose and unplugged cables and connectors and to promptly tidy these away.
You can also remind and train colleagues how to deal with loose wires, for example by tucking them out of the way or remove them from the area. Nor should plug sockets and extension leads be overloaded or in places where people could trip over them.
Don’t Mix Drinks and Office Tech
Did you know tea and coffee can be office health and safety hazards? Fluids and electricity aren’t a good match; spillages can also lead to equipment loss and hefty repair or replacement bills.
Generally, it’s best practice to ensure that food and drinks are consumed in a separate area from workstations and technology.
This means creating a comfortable and fully-functional kitchen room or area in which workers can cook, make and consume drinks, and relax. That way, they needn’t miss out on relaxing with a beverage – just not at their desks.
Maintain Tech and Other Equipment
Setting up a consistent schedule of maintenance is vital for preventing accidents at work and keeping the office safe and hazard-free.
For example, it’s important to check and maintain electrical systems to ensure there aren’t any faults that could damage the equipment or harm office users. This will enable your tech experts to identify risks and nip potential problems in the bud.
In addition, reviewing and, if necessary, updating technology systems will help to head off a whole host of potential problems, from faults to data breaches.
By checking and maintaining your equipment and technology regularly, you can notice issues early on, meaning operations won’t be slowed down while you’re rectifying problems.
Plumbing, Drainage and Electricity
Office infrastructure, particularly the plumbing, drainage and electrical systems, underpins any office’s smooth and safe operation. If a blockage or leak occurs, this could lead to serious damage to technology and equipment, and even structural damage. In turn, water escaping and malfunctioning equipment creates a risk of electrical shocks, fire, or other emergencies.
For this reason, it’s vital to agree a programme of regular checks by properly qualified experts to inspect and maintain these systems, to ensure everything is working properly.
Emergency Protocol
Visitors and workers in offices need to know what to do in an emergency. Every office needs to make sure there is a very clear protocol and system in place to ensure employees know what to do if a fire breaks out. This includes having a proper emergency exit plan and a list of things employees should do in case of an emergency.
This is even more important in offices with significant amounts of technology on site, as this may pose a greater risk of electrical fire to employees should anything go wrong.
Fire Safety
This is another critical aspect of preventing and managing office health and safety hazards.
It involves ensuring there is up-to-date and properly maintained fire equipment in the office, like extinguishers and alarms, plus designated and fire safety-trained individuals who can act as fire stewards. These people will know how to quickly respond and be able to usher people out of the office and help them gather in chosen assembly points.
Fire drills are also important, to ensure workers know exactly what to do, which way to go and where to gather if a real fire should break out.
Training Employees
There are several ways to train employees to ensure they understand and can comply with the health and safety rules and regulations in your office.
Displaying important information about office health and safety hazards around the office is sensible. For example, remind employees about the fire safety protocol with leaflets
As part of onboarding new employees, it makes sense get them to undergo some basic health and safety training to spread knowledge about office health and safety hazards throughout the workforce. This ensures as many colleagues as possible understand the rules and how to uphold good safety standards day-to-day, helping the whole team to keep each other safe.
First-Aid Training
Offering colleagues first-aid training is a great proactive step to make sure people are safer at work. In fact, every office should have at least one first-aid trained member of staff, to ensure that someone is able to help in the event of an emergency.
This is just a minimum expectation, though, and many businesses provide first-aid training to employees who are interested – the more people with these skills, the better for everyone.
Checking In with Employees
Having implemented a strong set of health and safety strategies and protocols, it’s important to regularly check in with workers to make sure they feel as safe as possible while in the office.
It makes sense to ask for regular feedback from a wide range of office users about what is working well in practice and what can be improved. For example, those who spend most or all of their working week may have a different experience of potential office health and safety hazards compared to freelancers or hotdesking employees. Their opinions and practical experiences should will inform what changes need to happen, so that people are even more safe and comfortable in the office.
Clean Offices are Safer Offices
It may sound obvious, but a clean and tidy workplace is safer. Office health and safety hazards can arise from substandard cleaning routines; for instance, accumulating mould or dust could trigger an allergic attack or breathing difficulties. Poorly sanitised fridges could lead to stomach upsets or even food poisoning outbreaks.
Implementing a consistent and thorough cleaning schedule will go a long way towards reducing office health and safety hazards. It also creates a space where productivity can thrive and people feel valued.
The Clean Network’s range of high-quality, expert office cleaning services can deliver these benefits. We’ll work with your business to create a customised and rigorous cleaning routine that matches your needs and budget. Simply contact us to get a free quote or to talk through how we can help.