The winter season brings many challenges to every business across the globe. Nobody wants to experience unsafe driving conditions and snowy sidewalks while going to the office or nearby the office.
So here we have come up with the tips that your business should be taking to make your workplace safe from the hazards of the winter.
First things first, winter threats to employee safety:-
The driving conditions deteriorate with the start of snow and ice. As per the Federal Highway Administration, more than 1300 individuals are killed, and over 116000 get injured in vehicle crashes because of poor weather conditions every year. You need to put your focus on more than snow accumulation.
There is more likelihood of dangerous fire activity in winters and slip hazards. Moreover, flu and other seasonal illnesses are also risks for many businesses in the winter season. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, illnesses at the workplace such as flu cost much more to the employers, thereby losing their productivity.
Let’s talk about common cold-weather hazards.
The most common winter hazards include –
- Road closures.
- Unsafe driving conditions.
- Snow shoveling health risks.
- Flight delays.
- Power outages.
Winter safety tips – Here we will discuss the steps to prevent the winter hazards for the safety of the employees.
Monitor emerging threats – It is very important to keep a check on potential threats that could have a negative impact on your employees. But monitoring the road closures, icy conditions, and temperatures all at once is quite difficult. And if you have more than one location where your business works, it becomes all the more difficult to monitor these things.
Experts advise adopting specialized threat monitoring solutions to monitor all at once. These systems will automatically tell you if any threat is emerging that could impact any of your office or employee, so you can make preparations to face a threat accordingly.
Protect the mobile employees – Mobile employees are more vulnerable to weather conditions. The duty of protecting the employees in every weather relies on the employers. You can provide them with proper safety precautions and appropriate equipment and tools. If you have employed drivers to pick them from home and drive to the office, ensure that the drivers have proper tires and emergency equipment. Use emergency communication software that will provide you with location-based alerts of remote workers. With this facility of real-time location, you can instantly send notifications to the employees located in a particular geographical area.
Fortify the worksite – What is the biggest risk that individuals face in winters? The answer – falls involving sleet and ice. That is why winter preparation is necessary to protect your business as well as the people around you. Taking essential steps like salting the parking lot can take you the long way in preventing you and your employees from the falls. Besides, placing absorbent mats at the entrance is also useful in preventing slips inside the office building.
You must rely on snow cleaning services for all your winter needs. P and J cleaning service is one such example. With more than 15 years of experience, we provide not only snow removal services for your commercial and residential property but also floor cleaning and upholstery cleaning. Our West Hartford snow removal service is the right answer to get the snow removed from your business premises at the prices you can afford. So, without further ado, look for the snow removal services near you and protect your business.
You can take other steps that include –
- Keeping well-lit walkways.
- Tell your employees to wear slip-resistant footwear.
- Make sure you have a reliable contractor for snow removals like P and J cleaning services.
Encourage remote worker safety – Still, there are many people who are working from home due to the pandemic. So, employers must consider the risks that employees may face near their homes. As per the research, shoveling snow sends more than 10000 people in the USA to the emergency room every year due to injuries.
This is not all. Winters take a toll on the mental health of the employees as well. As per the findings of the centers for disease control and prevention, nearly 40% of Americans are reported to struggle with mental health issues. Many people also suffer from seasonal affective disorder in the winters, and the pandemic has only worsened the situation.
Thus, conduct regular employee wellness checks to ensure the overall well-being of the employees.
To sum it up!
It is needless to say that every business faces challenges with the change in the season, especially in the winter season, as it brings snow, rain, and chilly temperatures. But taking the necessary steps beforehand can help you tackle the situation in a better way and thus protect your employees and customers. Thus, make winter months more tolerable with the steps mentioned above, and do not forget to contact P and J cleaning for all your winter needs. Visit our site for more information.