Accidents on the job can have widespread consequences for a company, from declining profits to slipping productivity and decreasing employee morale. At the end of the year, the expenses from safety issues add up, and without a comprehensive plan, including the appropriate insurance, it can prevent a business from achieving its goals.
With this in mind, your company should prioritize workplace safety, with the expressed purpose of reducing accidents each year. For some industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare and construction, risks are numerous, making it tough to ensure an accident-free job site. However, there are many ways that you can keep dangerous situations to a minimum.
In fact, one of the easiest ways to limit the number of accidents is with a motivated workplace. Here are a few reasons why this could help you create a safer company:
Employees can lose focus
Every day, workers deal with a variety of safety measures. These include proper clothing, hazard cleanup procedures, training meetings and other tasks. After a while, this can all get tedious, especially for veteran staff members. If that results in complacency, it could create a dangerous situation in your company.
Instead of letting this happen, keep your workers motivated. According to Construction Equipment Distribution Magazine, a publication of the non-profit organization Associated Equipment Distributors, several options can keep safety on track. For example, you may want to create a team to oversee the risk management plan and other elements. In addition, you can ask for employee feedback about parts of the job or change up duties to prevent people from getting bored.
Engagement can reduce risks
The more engaged and invested workers are, the more likely they are to care about safety measures on a daily basis. According to safety, health and industrial hygiene website EHS Today, many professionals worry about keeping motivation high within their companies.
Thomas Krause, Ph.D. and CEO of Behavioral Science Technology Inc., covered this topic at a past National Safety Council Congress meeting, the news source reported.
"Safety motivation for employees comes when they are connected with the work they are doing on an intellectual, emotional, creative and physical level," Krause said at the conference, EHS Today noted. "It has to have meaning for them in order to motivate them."
He further explained that keeping employees involved can improve motivation. Workers should be in meetings, on committees and included when buying new safety gear and equipment. That way, they'll be a part of each step of the process.
