About Us|Contact Us|Register|Login

[google-translator]
Currently Browsing: Employee Safety

What You Should Do After a Workplace Injury

What You Should Do After a Workplace Injury
When you’re at work, your mind’s focused on the job at hand. You’re confident that your employer has thought through how to keep you safe and free from harm, which gives you the confidence to focus fully on whatever your role entails. That’s why it’s so shocking when workplace injuries do occur: you simply don’t expect them. If you work in a place with heavy machinery or other dangerous equipment, accidents and injuries can be incredibly severe. Regardless of your injury’s severity, here’s what you ought to do after an injury in the workplace. Medical Check-Up First on your list of priorities is checking yourself for injuries. It might be blatantly obvious that you have cut your arm, but you’ll only know whether that cut will result in nerve damage or other complications if you go to the hospital and speak with medical professionals. Meanwhile, other injuries – like a slip on wet tiles – can leave you with hidden injuries, like concussion or an ankle sprain. In these cases, a doctor is paramount, given that only they can help diagnose and treat all of your injuries. Time Off If your injury is causing any kind of pain or suffering, and you feel that you’re unable to recover while at work, you should immediately inform your employer that you intend to take time off. Struggling back into work before you’re ready can hamper your recovery and may actually be detrimental to the work you do for your firm, too. Given that your injury took place in your place of work, it’s likely that your leave will be paid, and your managers will fully understand why you’re taking some time off to recover. A doctor’s note may be required – but that’s simple to present after your check-up. Compensation Options If your injury was relatively severe, it’s likely that at least one manager in your firm will be wringing their hands, expecting a tribunal or a lawsuit. In these cases, you might be approached with a settlement deal – but that’s not worth accepting right away. You should first speak to experienced injury attorneys like those found at Kampf, Schiavone & Associates. They’ll know if the amount offered is too low – and they’ll advise you on how you may be able to receive a significantly larger sum of cash through their legal assistance. Returning to Work Eventually, with your legal case ongoing or completed and your recovery well underway, you’ll feel like it’s time to head back to work. Depending on the nature of your injuries, you may feel a little concerned about returning to work in the place that caused so much pain and suffering for you. Contact managers and your HR team if this is the case, as they may be able to find you work that’s not directly involved in the area that you sustained your injury. If you experience any discrimination when you return to work, do mention this to your legal team, or mention it to a trusted senior colleague. Recovering from a workplace injury can take time, but you’ll get the compensation you deserve with the right...
read more

How to Take Care of Your Mental Health

How to Take Care of Your Mental Health
There has been much focus on mental health issues in recent years. Long working hours, family stresses, bad health, and the current global pandemic have taken their toll on even the most optimistic individuals. So, what can be done to ensure safeguarding mental health as a priority? Healthy Eating Eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet is vital for physical and mental wellness. If you only eat junk food, the body will struggle to perform all the processes needed for healthy function. The brain relies upon vitamins and minerals for optimum performance. It’s essential to eat regularly so as not to allow your blood sugar levels to drop. Slow-release foods such as oats and bananas will help stabilize mood and prevent dips in energy. It’s good practice to try to eat your ‘5 a day’ as recommended. Fruit and vegetables will provide vital nutrients and help protect your digestive system as well as the brain. Omega 3 fatty acids are a great way to regenerate nerve cells in the brain and are known for helping prevent age-related brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Exercise Physical activity has long been known for its ‘feel good’ properties. When you exercise, your body pumps more oxygen to the brain and stimulates the growth of new cells. Increasing the body’s activity will act as a mild antidepressant and improve memory and learning. You don’t have to be pumping iron each day for hours at the gym. Small changes such as walking every day or playing sports you enjoy will provide a plethora of benefits. Keeping Busy If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that humans need structure in their lives. Along with daily routines and working life, it is essential to have things to look forward to and time with friends. Staying busy helps the mind from dwelling on spiraling negative thought patterns. If you have missed your busy schedule and not socializing has affected your mental health, why not plan a party or event to make up for a lost time? It will give you something to focus your mind on and something to look forward to. Research some local venues and start asking your friends about availability. Compile a list of all your guests and get an idea of the numbers. If you make it a ticketed event, it will keep costs down and allow you to make it a little extra special. If you decide to outsource the catering, you could use Event Bartenders to attend the function and provide the first-class service throughout the evening. You can then relax and enjoy the party and make special memories to mark the end of restrictions. Relaxing As well as keeping busy, it’s essential to find time to relax. Meditation and mindfulness have become popular in recent years, and they are a great way to de-stress after a busy day. Integrating meditation into daily life will help you control stress levels and not allow worries to overwhelm you. There are various apps available with guidance on how to get started. Meditation takes some practice but is well worth it for the benefits it offers. Looking after your mental health is crucial to prevent further problems and remain happy in everyday...
read more

How to Create a Better Work Environment for Your Employees

How to Create a Better Work Environment for Your Employees
As an entrepreneur, you have a variety of matters that you have to see to on a day-to-day basis. From managing your personnel to ensuring that your products and services meet the highest standards, it can often seem like employee satisfaction isn’t as high a priority. Neglecting the satisfaction of your workers, however, can be a grave mistake for any business owner. Ultimately, you want to do what you can to create the sort of professional environment that people want to be in. Taking the time and putting in the effort to improve your work environment for your team will help to improve employee retention rates and overall keep your workers happy. When your employees look forward to coming in to work every day, they are more likely to perform better and produce quality work for you. There are many aspects of your work environment that you might need to address in order to make the necessary improvements. Here are just a few to consider looking into so that you can create an overall better work environment for your employees. Start With Cleanliness The best place to start when you are looking to improve the quality of your work environment is with the cleanliness of the space. No matter how functional an office space may be, people are going to notice if it isn’t clean. A work environment that isn’t as clean as it should be can be off-putting and generally make your workers uncomfortable. The best way to address the cleanliness of your workplace is to have the space professionally cleaned thoroughly. Once that is done, you should look to hire a quality office cleaning Hobart service that can come and clean your offices on a routine basis. With a cleaner workspace, your employees will be much happier with their environment when they are on the job. Improve Functionality Once things are clean and tidy, you should address the functionality of the workspace that you are looking to improve. Again, depending on the sort of business that you run, your workers might have specific needs in regard to the functionality of the space they work in. Make sure that everyone has enough space and breathing room in order to do their jobs well. For instance, if your employees tend to handle or discuss confidential information with clients, you should ensure that they all have access to privacy so that they can do their jobs properly while protecting the customer’s information. Address Personnel Issues The physical improvements that you make to a workspace are only part of creating a better overall work environment. You also need to address any issues with personnel that might be going on with your team. One bad apple in the bunch is enough to drive your talented workers elsewhere. So if you sense that not all is well among your employees, do what you can to get to the bottom of things and make any changes that you see fit to...
read more

Does Your Business Need a Facility Manager?

Does Your Business Need a Facility Manager?
You’re probably not losing any sleep over facility management if your business fits into one small office. But, if you plan on growing your business, your small office will eventually grow into a whole building. This is where facility management comes in. The job of a facility manager is to ensure a well-organized environment in which you, your team, and your whole business can thrive. According to Transparency Market Research, the North American facilities management market will be worth about $340 billion by the end of 2024. So, facility management services are not something you should underestimate. Read on : Optimoroute has come out with a resourceful article on Route Optimization Software that sheds light on creating efficient transport plans using app or software to cut costs, save time, and utilize resources.Why Use Route Optimization Software? The Basics of Facility Management Facility management is a profession that focuses on utilizing a company’s buildings and equipment in a way that offers the best value. Facility maintenance is just one part of facility management. Strategic facility management ensures functionality, productivity, and safety in the built environment. Facility management is also key to ensuring that your company’s buildings and equipment comply with existing legal requirements. If you are wondering if or when you should hire a facility manager, here are some telltale signs: Your Maintenance Costs Are Escalating As your business grows, so will your maintenance costs. But, if these costs start running down your company, you have a problem. Some common money-wasters are likely to blame If you can’t figure out why your servicing and repair costs are increasing each month. These can include unused office space, wasteful stocking of spare parts and inventory, and under-utilisation or abuse of existing equipment. According to a 2013 report published by Wired, the U.S. had added about 2 billion sq. ft. of office space to its existing stock over the previous 30 years. Today’s mobile workforce doesn’t require so much space. The way you manage maintenance personnel and other staffing expenses also has an impact on your bottom line. The costs quickly pile up if you frequently have to call in heating engineers, electricians, plumbers, and other contractors. When you are operating in multiple locations, or have a very large facility, it’s hard to keep track of all maintenance tasks. Many business owners are in the habit of tracking everything manually. This can get messy really quickly. Moreover, if this is something you don’t have experience with, you can’t know whether the maintenance workers are carrying out their tasks properly. This is why facility managers rely on facility management software. Such tools allow them to make sure that every contractor and maintenance employee is doing the work they are being paid for. You Need to Expand Your Facilities to Accommodate Growth Let’s say that your business is expanding and you need additional storage space for your data. To handle the growing needs of your company, you need to build an effective data centre infrastructure. Naturally, this is a huge investment, and you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. A facility manager can help make sure your new data centre can handle the evolution of your company. Using their experience, they can vet and hire a data centre construction firm. Their job would also be to manage the service contract you have with the firm, help ensure data centre security, and manage periodic upgrades. Even though your facility manager may not be an authority on the subject, they will know how to find and work with people who are. A good facility manager knows how to take care of quality control when engaging...
read more

How to Protect Three of Your Business Biggest Assets

How to Protect Three of Your Business Biggest Assets
When running a business, you might think the most important thing is the number at the bottom of the profit and loss sheet at the end of every financial year. Whilst it’s important to work on making that number as high as possible, it’s more important to protect those assets that help you earn money. Here are some top tips to protect the three most important assets of any company. People Your staff is the lifeblood of your company. They’re the ones who come up with new creative ideas and then help you implement them in the best way possible. The best employees care massively about the success of your company, so it’s important you also care about their own success. Make sure all your employees feel valued for their work. If they don’t, you could find them putting less effort into their day to day tasks or even find they want to leave the company. It’s important you also look after your employee’s health. Encourage healthy lifestyles by providing nutritious snacks, time for exercise and regular breaks throughout the day. Sickness can cost businesses thousands of dollars every year, so try and do everything you can to protect their welfare. IT   A decade or two ago, some businesses may have been able to run without an IT system. These days, even if you run the most traditional of businesses, like a horseshoe fitter or even a cobbler, it’s almost impossible to run it without the help of IT. Your computer can help you complete so many tasks. It enables you to organize your team’s work schedule, your business’ finances and even helps you communicate with your customers. That’s why when your IT system is down, it could bring your whole business down with it. Your productivity could ground to a literal halt, wasting your colleagues’ time and valuable opportunities to make revenue. IT is so important that big companies employ a member of staff or even a whole team whose sole purpose is to keep their computer system up and to run. If you run a small business, you might think this is a luxury you could never afford. The reality is that even if you can’t afford to employ someone full-time, it could be extremely cost-effective to employ a support agency to look after your IT systems. For example, outsourceIT have a team of expert technicians who won’t only offer support when things go wrong, but also maintain your systems, back up data and even protect your company from hackers. For a small fee, they could be on hand whenever you need them. Brand As well as the people and the equipment, it’s important to protect your company’s brand. A bad story in the press, or even a negative post about you on social media, could lose your customers. Try and deal with any disputes as quickly and fairly as possible before they have time to go viral on the internet. As well as protecting your brand when things go wrong, there are lots of things you can do to enhance your image. For example, consider working with charities and community organizations to show you don’t just care about making a...
read more

« Previous Entries Next Entries »