Remote working safety: How to keep your team safe and healthy

Health and safety have become a crucial factor in this new era of working remotely, and leaders need to know how to ensure remote working safety to keep a team safe and healthy.

Around 42% of office workers in the US are now working from home full time, allowing many businesses to remain open and functioning. Employers still have a responsibility to ensure that staff are not affected by an injury or illness due to the change in working practices. Many workplaces encourage breaks and have mental health help available to help employees working from home practice work safety.

Remote working safety strategies

Take a look at the ways you as an employer can further implenent remote working safety .

Providing Equipment

When asking employees to work remotely, equipment should be given to ensure that they can continue with their regular activities. A risk assessment should be carried out by the employer to ensure remote working safety  in that equipment can help reduce the risks of accidents or injuries.

Employers should also consider whether further adaptations are required to allow workers with disabilities to perform their duties with remote working safety. Some companies are offering an allowance to employees to set up their own home office. Where this is not possible, substitutes to equipment should be suggested to meet health and safety directives, such as using a cushion to align with the computer monitor.

Injury And Accidents

Accidents can still happen while working from home. However, it should be considered whether the accident has occurred because you, as an employer, failed to implement remote working safety properly. Repetitive strain injuries can occur due to employer negligence according to Austin lawyers. This can be due to a failure to provide wrist support, foot support or an adjustable chair or desk. According to a survey, 92% of chiropractors have reported more incidences of neck, back and musculoskeletal pain since remote working began in 2020. Guidance should be issued to remote workers to avoid injuries and accidents and ensure remote working safety.

Mental Health And Wellbeing

A 2017 report showed that 41% of employees working from home reported high levels of stress when compared to 25% of staff working in the office environment. Many people may feel lonely while working remotely, while others may find it difficult to concentrate if they have family or children at home. Employers can protect the health and wellbeing of all employees in remote working safety by assessing the risks associated with remote working and checking in on staff regularly to ensure they are coping. An assessment of stress levels can determine what support can be offered by management and colleagues.

Risk assessment for remote working safety

When does a risk assessment have to be carried out in the home office? If there is a teleworking or home office and the workplace differs from that in the company, the employer must carry out a professional risk assessment when it is first set up and document this for remote working safety.

The general remote working safety obligation to identify specific hazards applies to all forms of work. In order to be able to create this, a visit to the home workplace or, alternatively, the employee’s exact home circumstances can be asked. For a viewing, the employer needs the employee’s express right of access to the apartment. This also applies if an occupational safety specialist carries out the risk assessment. In contrast to conventional workplaces in the company, the risk assessment only needs to be carried out once and not repeated.

Your remote working safety risk assessment forms the basis or starting point for all measures to protect the safety and health of your employees. If employees work from home temporarily and without a contractual stipulation of workplaces, the employee is responsible for setting up his own workplace.

However, if the home office has proven itself during the Corona period, for example, you might want to enable your employees to do it more often in the future. Your employees can work at their kitchen table temporarily, but the longer and more often they do this, the more important an ergonomically designed workplace is for remote working safety.

Remote working safety in working hours

• If possible, the daily working hours should not be exceeded. In this way mistakes can be avoided, the ability to concentrate is maintained and health is protected.
• Regular breaks are not only important to maintain performance, but also to prevent one-sided stress. The legally required lunch break must be at least 30 minutes if you work six hours. However, it is advisable to take further short breaks.
• In order for your employees to have enough rest in addition to their work, the statutory rest period of at least eleven consecutive hours between two working days also applies in the home office. During this time, short interruptions such as checking e-mails or short phone calls should also be avoided.
• If it can be avoided, the work should not be done late in the evening, i.e. after 10 p.m. or at night.
• You should also refrain from working on weekends so as not to impair your free time and time off.
• Basically, a clear separation between working hours and free time is very important. If possible, you should refrain from contacting your employees outside of working hours. Constant availability triggers stress and has a long-term negative effect on the health and performance of your employees. Clear agreements are therefore helpful.
• The recording of working times can also be useful in the home office in order to take breaks and keep track of the hours worked.

Conclusion

All employers have a duty of care to their staff, ensuring that their remote working safety is protected. This includes that regular communication with workers is key. Continue to review policies and guidance to ensure that everyone is safe and well.