The office is often to be dubbed as a second home for most employees. The employee’s average working hour is around 8 or 9 hours per day. On top of that, the company usually applied a five-day-a-week rule for their employees. It makes them indeed need to spend a lot of time in the office. 

Thus, ensuring that the office area is cleaned and arranged as tidy is important to help employees stay comfortable. When employees can have the ultimate comfort and support, it can make them more productive when working. Their health and safety are two of the most important things that should be looked after. 

But sometimes, without realizing it, there are dangers that can lurk and affect employee safety. Thus, making the company more prone to lose. Keep on reading to know more about 5 common hazards that could happen in the office, and what you can do to prevent all of them from happening.

Slippery Floors

There are a couple of things that can cause someone in the office to slip, trip, and even fall. It can be due to slippery or wet floors, which were caused by water spills that are not cleaned immediately. It can also happen because of the uneven floor surface, or office electronic cables that are not arranged properly. To ensure that these things won’t happen and cause an accident to your employees, you should prevent them from happening in the first place.

Hire a fast-to-respond janitor; thus, upon seeing any puddles, they will immediately clean it up. You should also make a rule for the janitor to always put up ‘slippery floor’ signs after it was just mopped. Or it is also better to instead choose carpet for the entire office flooring area because it is very effective to avoid any slipping due to uneven floors or wet floors. 

But keep in mind that you need to pay extra care for the carpet by hiring a professional carpet cleaner to ensure that it doesn’t be a breeding ground for dirt and dust. To prevent employees from tripping because of messy cables when they are rushing to get their work done, you should tidy up all cables with zip ties and bury them under desks or carpets to keep the cables together.

Injury

As mentioned before, employees generally spend approximately 8 hours a day using a computer. In the long run, it has the risk of causing injury due to improper work equipment, such as uncomfortable chairs and tables, which can eventually lead to the wrong sitting pose. If left unchecked, this will cause injury and health problems for employees, especially to the spine and their posture. To overcome this, you should provide employees with proper work desks and ergonomic chairs. With the flexible design, the height can be adjusted according to each body posture.

Poor lighting

The lighting system at the office certainly will affect employee performance. A room that is too bright can make the employees difficult to focus, while on the other hand, dim lights can make their eyes hurt and cause dizziness. 

The solution to this problem is by setting the lighting system as good as possible. It will also be great if you prepare a spacious room which has big windows so that natural light can enter the office space without any difficulties. 

Fire

The number of machines or electronic equipment in the office, the cables, and the use of gas stoves in the pantry can be a source of fire incidents in the office. To prevent any accidents, such as fires, from happening, you should have an inspection team to frequently check the cables to see if any are broken or peeled off.

You should also put a note in the pantry, which shows the instructions on how to utilize the stove and other kitchen appliances safely. 

Air quality

Air quality in the office plays an important role in supporting the health of employees. Remember, employees are the engine for your business. Thus you have to make sure they work their best and be productive in their daily work. 

Poor air quality can cause allergies, asthma, headaches, and various respiratory problems. Poor air quality can be caused by a ventilation system that is not properly cleaned, too many people in one room, and dirty carpets, which become a source of growth for mold, mildew, bacteria, and many other reasons. 

One of the ultimate strategies that you can do to avoid this is by making sure that office cleaning is done every day. This will be effective in preventing the accumulation of dust and dirt on the surface of office furniture to breed. Thus the number of infections and illnesses among employees due to poor air quality can be greatly reduced. 

By knowing the common hazards that occur in the office, you, as the person in charge, can now prevent these things by creating a safe and conducive work environment for all employees. The productive work environment will definitely help you to grow your company even more, to easily achieve success in the future!