If you’re researching occupational health in Wichita, KS, you probably already know that workplace safety is important. But do you know all the benefits occupational health and safety programs can offer your company?
Beyond ensuring regulatory compliance and avoiding fines, a strong safety culture boosts employee well-being, increases workplace productivity, and helps employers cut costs. Here, we discuss the many reasons why workplace safety is important.
Protecting Workers From Injury
As you might expect, the main reason for a robust workplace safety program is to protect your employees from injury. Inadequate training, out-of-date policies, aging equipment, poor ergonomics, and hazardous conditions all endanger your workforce. A safe work environment helps keep your employees out of harm’s way.
Even without the threat of an OSHA violation or a hefty fine, you owe it to your staff to protect their health. Besides being the right thing to do, reducing workplace injury rates offers multiple benefits for employers. This makes ensuring a safe workplace both an ethical responsibility and a strategic business decision.
The financial advantages of lower injury rates include the following:
- Reduced workers’ compensation claims
- Decreased levels of absenteeism
- Lower insurance rates
- Avoidance of legal fees
- Increased financial stability
Boosting Employee Productivity
Helping you avoid unnecessary costs is only one way safety programs boost employers’ bottom line. Another reason why workplace safety is important is that it can increase employee morale, satisfaction, performance, and loyalty.
Employees want to work in a safe, clean, and comfortable environment. When they feel valued and respected in this way, they are happier and more productive. Healthy, happier workers don’t look for new jobs as often, reducing your turnover rate and lowering the costs of hiring and training new staff.
Plus, workplace safety tends to be a virtuous cycle. When employees see management prioritizing safe practices, they tend to do the same. They also often feel more comfortable reporting hazardous conditions and near-misses to their supervisors, which provides an opportunity for further improvements.
In short, a strong occupational health and safety plan makes your business a better place to work.
Strengthening Your Reputation
When thinking about why workplace safety is important, you may focus on your company’s physical premises. The truth is that the ramifications extend far beyond those walls. Your customers, partners, and future employees will also notice if your business has a reputation for safe operations — or not.
A strong safety culture may carry over in the following ways:
- A reputation for safety enhances your brand value among clients, prospective employees, and the general public.
- Customers want timely, consistent, uninterrupted service, which is more difficult if your staff repeatedly experiences injuries.
- Business partners prefer to work with companies that have higher productivity and less downtime.
- A track record of safety can build consumer confidence, trust, and loyalty, while a record of violations can erode it.
Implementing a Strong Workplace Safety Program
Even if you know why workplace safety is important, you may not know how to develop and implement an effective program. The following tips may help:
- Evaluate your risks: Risk management starts with hazard identification. Reviewing common OSHA violations is a good place to begin. You can also interview employees, analyze customer complaints, use a software program, or hire an expert.
- Implement health and wellness programs: Health screenings, mental health resources, onsite physical therapy, and flexible scheduling can reduce injury rates and improve employee morale.
- Pay attention to ergonomics: From office work to factory floors, many job tasks involve repetitive movements. Outsourcing an ergonomic assessment, investing in adjustable equipment, or providing movement training can all lower the risk of repetitive strain injuries.
- Invest in technology: Modern technology can help detect hazards and mitigate risks. Proximity sensors, smart helmets, and real-time feedback are just a few of the technologies that can reduce injury rates.
- Work with an experienced partner: If you don’t know where to start, sometimes it’s best to work with someone who does. An experienced occupational consultant can help you identify risks and minimize hazards.
Enhance Workplace Safety With WorkSafe
Now that you know why workplace safety is important, are you ready to get started? WorkSafe is Wichita’s full-service occupational health clinic. Unlike many other area providers, we focus solely on work injuries.
Whether you want to learn more about reducing work-related accidents, increasing employee productivity, or reporting a workplace injury, we’re here to help. We offer a range of services for employers, from DOT physicals and drug screenings to physical therapy and early intervention.
Call us today at 316-262-8800 to see how we can help your business.