Business owners have the absolute responsibility for the day-to-day health, safety and welfare of employees and worksite visitors. To make your work place safer, know the three common areas of risk: people, environment and company.
People First!
Keeping your employees safe and healthy is good for your business. To do that:
- Offer prevention and wellness activities
- Have options in place so injured employees can receive immediate treatment
- Consistently search for and eliminate workplace hazards
- Offer early intervention and rehabilitation programs for drug and alcohol abuse and mental health problems
- Make free flu shots available
A Safe Environment
Heavy equipment, electrical hazards, even keyboards can pose health threats to your employees. For a safer workplace environment:
- Conduct routine maintenance and housekeeping measures
- Frequently check for proper ergonomic conditions
- Check all equipment for unsafe wear and tear
- Educate workers on identifying hazards and risks
- Make sure employees wear necessary protective equipment
- Create and rehearse a worksite disaster plan
- Control and eliminate toxic chemical use where you can
- Make your workplace smoke-free
From the Top
Safety starts with a company’s leadership. To establish and communicate your vision, mission, policies and trust:
- Keep confidential medical information protected
- Offer educational programs to improve health and safety
- Thoroughly analyze accidents for prevention
- Have a zero-tolerance policy for workplace violence
- Offer access to cost effective health care benefit programs
- Begin an employee assistance program
If you have any employees, most states require you to have an active workers compensation policy to insure coverage for those employees against a workplace injury. In most cases, the owners of a sole-proprietorship or a partner in a partnership are not considered employees and have the option whether to cover themselves or not. For more information about workplace safety and disaster preparedness, visit these sites:
For more information about insurance for business owners, contact us at 704-684-0082,
e-mail us or fill out our
contact form.
