People work from home for several reasons. Maybe you are a stay-at-home parent, or maybe your office is undergoing a renovation or maybe you are sick with flu. Whatever is the reason for “telecommunicating”, there are different ways to ensure you are being productive, healthy, and satisfied while working from home. Here, we are discussing some important work from home safety tips that will ensure maximum productivity and safety too.
Working from home sounds like a luxury to many, but it comes with a lot of challenges. What if you face some connectivity issue with your coworkers? What will you do if you need something from your office that you cannot access? What if you have a lot of in-home distractions like family members, pets, and electronics?
Completing your work is important for businesses, but staying healthy, both physically and mentally is just as important for at-home employees. It is about creating boundaries between personal and work life, and that can be a tricky adjustment. Here are some work from home safety tips for telecommunicating, self-isolating- no matter whatever may be the reasons.
Work from Home Safety Tips
Set an ergonomic workstation- It is the first and the foremost among all work from safety tips. Though over 40% of companies provide remote work, the current situation has several workers working remotely for the very first time. This means that many of these employees do not even have a dedicated workstation in their home- let alone one that has been made with their musculoskeletal health in mind. “Ergonomics is the study of the entire body and how you communicate with the environment.
Recreating your workspace as much as possible is one of the most important work from home tips to stay productive. Employees need to ensure their workspace is comfortable. Frequently used items must be kept within the reach to avoid any kind of straining or stretching. If your employees use work equipment at home, a picture of their workspace can help ensure they have a safe location to do so. Offer your employees with resources they need to set their ergonomically right homework station. Some of the top work from home safety tips for computer users include:
- Use a rolling chair that is well-equipped with sufficient padding and back support is one of the vital work from home safety tips.
- Position computer monitors 20 to 30 inches away from your face, centered straight ahead. Your eye level must fall at the top of the screen.
- Another one tips among the various work from home safety tips is to keep your back and shoulder straight. Sit with a few inches separating the back of your knees from the chair’s edges.
- Follow the 20/20/20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look at an object which is 20 feet away or more for nearly 20 seconds.
Get up from your chair, stretch for some time and stay active- Sitting at the desk for a continuous 8 hours is not healthy. Being sedentary might pose a greater risk to employees working from home as they are neither attending any meetings nor they are getting any chance to talk to their coworkers.
Another important one in the list of work from home safety tips is to remind your employees about the significance of stretching their legs and staying active even as they are confined inside their homes. Experts suggest setting an alarm to take regular breaks. Performing simple stretches throughout the day can help you to stay relaxed and avoid overexertion injuries.
Employees should make it a point to stretch their shoulders, feet, back, and neck- Health also matters a lot when it comes to work from home safety tips. While working from home, employees should maintain a work routine. Ask them to get up from their workplace at the same time every day and get ready for work.
Dividing both home and work is important. Employees should avoid doing home tasks, like cleaning dishes, laundry during office hours. At the end of the day, employees should stop working and allow themselves to get back into their daily home routine.
Avoid any kind of glare-While you do work from home, eliminate, or reduce glare by using window shades, overhead lights, and diffusers. You can even use anti-glare filters for the computers. It is another one on the list of work from home safety tips.
Make sure you socialize- One of the significant work from home safety tips is to ensure socializing. Do not forget that not all stress is physical. To fill the socializing gap while working remotely, find a colleague you can call when you want to chat.
Alternatively, buddy up with a friend who works elsewhere and is going through a similar experience. Joining a social video call instead is not at all a bad idea, either.
Prevent trips, falls, and slips- Slips, falls, and trips are some of the common types of injuries that happen in the workplace. When your employees are working from their homes, their environment does not have the safety standards you have in the office.
They are at risk of tripping on household objects like tables, toys, accidentally slipping on water spilled from the bottle, or even falling from the staircase. Here are some work from home safety tips to prevent trips, falls, and slips.
- Avoid slips by wearing proper slippers, even when you are inside your home. Avoid wearing slippery socks. Clean the spills along with the water or mud tracked on the footwear instantly.
- To avoid trips, keep the walkways in your home clear of the clutter. Keep your house well-lit and ensure cords are secured safely. Avoid distractions, like phones while walking or running.
- You can prevent falls from stairs by switching on the lights and using a handrail while taking the stairs.
Telecommunication needs good working practices- In comparison to a workplace or office, employers have less influence on the workers’ working conditions when they work remotely. For instance, monitoring working conditions, including ergonomics, time, and workload can be quite challenging.
Therefore, remote work needs good working practices and a specific level of trust between an employee and employer. Employees must understand the risks associated with work from home. These can include, for instance, problems related to network connection, IT, and printing of important documents. Personal risks can include ergonomics as the home office may not be well-equipped as workspaces at the real offices.
Pay attention to the surroundings- It is one of the significant work from home safety tips. Several on-the-job injuries arise from complacency. If a task becomes a daily routine, it can be simple to stop actively thinking about safety. No environment is more familiar than the home itself- and employees might not be used to having safety in mind as they are in office.
Throw in distractions like kids, pets, and partners also working from home, and it is no secret why some professionals expect work comp claims to increase with remote working.
Safety risks in the home can put employees and family members at risk. We should step back and have a look at the safety of both our home and work area.
Encourage your workers to stay cautious about their surroundings while working from home. If possible, an employee’s work area must be in a room with the door closed to avoid any kind of distractions. Employees should set aside time every week to check their work area. Some of the best practices to do while you follow work from home safety tips include:
- Have a fire extinguisher and fire exit plan for household
- Avoid electrical hazards by keeping away open liquid containers, like tea or coffee.
- Dispose of waste at the end of the day.