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Business owners have many responsibilities, including protecting employee health and wellbeing while they are at work. They already need to comply with relevant health and safety legislation. However, owners can and should go beyond that. This can take the form of identifying other improvements that can protect both the health and wellbeing of your team.
Creating a healthy workplace offers many benefits for your employees and your business. Ensuring that you have a healthy office environment will help to reduce staff sickness, allow your employees to work more productively, and could even improve staff retention levels. But, to gain these benefits, you will first need to establish some ways to achieve a workplace designed to protect the wellbeing of your team. Take a look at some of the ways you can help reduce sickness and protect employee health in your business:
Be Aware of Sick Building Syndrome and Its Causes
Have you ever heard of sick building syndrome? If not, it may be worth researching this as it can cause many problems for you and your workers. Sick building syndrome can be responsible for a wide range of symptoms. These often appear un-related, which makes it challenging to diagnose too. Sick building syndrome can sometimes cause symptoms similar to the flu, such as sneezing, runny noses, fever, and headaches.
The primary way to check is if the syndrome disappears when you leave the office and reappears when you return. The exact cause can be tricky to identify too. However, it is often believed to be due to issues such as poor air quality and a lack of ventilation. If you suspect that sick building syndrome could be impacting your office, it is advisable to investigate this further with professional help.
Reduce the Likelihood of Muscular-Skeletal Issues for Staff
Spending extended periods sitting can harm employee health and wellbeing. This can lead to employees developing a range of muscular-skeletal disorders such as back and neck pain. Many muscular-skeletal issues can have a lasting impact on health and wellbeing, causing employees to take time off sick and for medical appointments and also impacting their life outside of work. But, there are ways to prevent employees from suffering from muscular-skeletal issues caused in the workplace. Introducing ergonomic office equipment is a great way to help prevent health problems caused by prolonged sitting in an office. Changing your office equipment and introducing items such as an Ergonomic Chair for each employee should help to improve your team’s comfort levels and reduce muscular-skeletal issues.
Take Preventative Measures Against Disease To Improve Employee Health
Finally, ensuring that your workplace is always clean and tidy is essential when trying to protect the health of your employees and reduce sickness levels. Keeping up with a regular cleaning schedule and taking extra hygiene measures should help keep illnesses at bay and prevent them spreading through your offices.