Workplace safety is necessary for a productive organization. After all, how can an organization function properly if workers are worried for their safety or worse, consistently getting hurt on the job (the workplace should not be like some morbid Dickens novel!)? Here are five tips to promote safety in the workplace (tip within a tip: Remember, workplace safety is not reserved for labor intensive, “blue collar” jobs. Even “white collar” desk jockeys need to be concerned for, and take an active role in promoting, workplace safety.):

• Create a culture of safety – your organization if filled with notice boards, water coolers, and break rooms. Post company safety statistics as well as tips on how to conduct oneself safely around the office/workplace. Make sure management and employees alike are on board with the company’s safety initiatives and send out reminders often (at least annually).
• Make safety fun – as with everything in life, when something is fun (or at least competitive) people are more likely to partake. Hold organizational safety contests or games in which departments or individuals can compete against one another for the best safety record. Be careful not to trivialize safety in the workplace, but make an effort to make it somewhat less dull of a topic of conversation in the office.
• Hold safety training seminars – these can be integrated into the organization’s orientation program or at different points during the year.
• Understand that employee safety is tied to other factors besides the inherent dangers of a job (ie – operating heavy machinery). If a worker becomes bored with his or her position or they believe their job to have stagnated, they are less likely to use the good judgment and caution they would ordinarily use if they had pride in their work. This is a recipe for some sort of accident. Make sure employees are happy (as happy as can be expected anyway) and they will likely take care of any safety concerns through their own use of common sense.
• Be vigilant and realize some accidents can not be avoided. Sometimes accidents or bad things at work just happen! The best we can do as safety conscious employees is to remain vigilant while in the work place (I don’t mean build a fort in your office) and work to prevent accidents before they can occur.

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