According to the Health and Safety Statistics, 1.8 million working people suffer from work-related illnesses. At the same time, the estimated cost of injuries due to poor working conditions reached £18.8 billion.

Although statistics showed a decrease compared to previous years, these figures illustrate that employers might not provide the best safety measures at work and that employees tend to overlook certain issues in the workplace.

Hence, companies should focus more on worker safety, and staff members must follow basic workplace safety rules. Let’s see what those are and how you can practise them.

Here’re 5 Important Rules For Workplace Safety You Need To Follow

1. Report hazardous conditions

Regardless of the domain your company activates, hazardous conditions always occur. For example, in offices, there might be loose wires all over the place, while on building sites, materials may be disorganised, making them a potential accident cause.

Therefore, to avoid such occurrences, you should report conditions that may cause harm to you or your co-workers. Even if most of the time you may fear sharing these observations, you need to notify your superiors of any unsafe conditions so that they can mitigate risks quickly and effectively.

Read Also: Guide to Complying with Safety Training in the Workplace

2. Keep your workstation clean

Whether you work at an office or outside a building, keeping your workstation clean will minimize the risks of getting injured. That’s because no matter how efficient you think you are, being in a hurry to complete a task might take away your attention from your surroundings.

The statistics strongly support this statement: most work-related accidents from any industry are slips, trips and falls. Maintaining a clean workstation while focusing on work might be challenging, but it’s necessary.

To improve this aspect in a company, employers should use a behaviour-based safety observation checklist to review work areas and other workplace safety regulations.

3. Wear your protective equipment

One of the worst mistakes you could make as an employee would be not wearing your protective equipment when working. Remember that even if you might be careful of your surroundings and can avoid most workplace risks, you may not be fast enough to dodge others’ mistakes.

Therefore, wearing your suit, safety glasses or muffs should be mandatory for you and all your co-workers. It would be best for your superiors to have an ISO 27001 compliance checklist to identify these issues before they become a security risk and affect you and other employees.

4. Take enough breaks

Putting your body to work continuously will tire you to the point you’ll always be at risk of injuring yourself. No matter how careful you are, if you’re not taking enough breaks for drinking water, eating or stretching your body for a few minutes will exhaust you faster.

That means you’ll get fatigued faster and won’t be able to perform efficiently at work. Your decreased working capacity will put you to risk, so make sure you’re taking care of your health and avoid overworking to the point of burnout.

5. Maintain proper posture

A good posture can make the difference between a healthy body and acute back pain. A straight and relaxed posture must be maintained when working at a desk so that you don’t strain your eyes and hurt your back.

At the same time, if your job requires lifting heavy products, you must keep your back straight and lift by straightening your hips and knees. Don’t forget to stretch before doing a strenuous activity at work.

Read Also:

• An Ultimate Guide to Small Business Security
• 6 Useful Technologies That Increase Business Security
• 5 Compelling Reasons Why You Should Install A Business Security System