Now is the time to redesign the health and safety policy for remote workers. More and more people are working away from the office. Employees are now choosing to be remote workers where ever the job lets them be one. Remote working has many advantages, including reduced costs for employers and greater flexibility for employees. But, it also raises different health and safety concerns.
Remote Working is the New Normal
Remote workers can be based at home, occasionally work from home; or be mobile and connected from anywhere in the world. All over the world, remote working has increased dramatically as IT has developed. In particular, laptops, hand-held computers and smartphones mean that many people now find their job include remote working to some extent.
We are living in uncertain times! The COVID-19 pandemic has led to confusion and isolation of the global workforce as companies now have to turn completely to remote working. As most organizations were unprepared for this change; they are waiting for things to “get back to normal” when they can have in-person meetings and higher productivity.
Read More : 5 Must-Follow Steps to Manage Remote Employees
However, we are never going to return to normal. There can only be a new normal after the post-pandemic. Most of the employees are going to remotely work from home. Therefore, it’s the right time for business to redesign guidelines on the health and safety policy for remote workers.
Employer Responsibility
Remote working offers many advantages to the employer and employee; by reducing costs of accommodation and travel, allowing flexible working and improving work efficiency. But it also brings its own health and safety hazards, from working in isolation to a lack of control over the work environment.
Employers are responsible for identifying potential hazards and implementing health and safety procedures, to mitigate and control risk that remote employees might face. Managers can raise remote employees’ awareness of potential work-related safety issues by educating them. Going over potential hazards with employees and establishing a system for how companies will report and investigate any injuries, illnesses, and other incidents that might happen will help.
Managing Risks
You’ll need to look at the risks from both perspectives – Businesses and the remote worker’s. It’s best to start at the organizational level by asking some basic questions:
- How many staff are working remotely and how many are likely to do so in the future?
- What’s the geographical spread of remote workers?
- What types of activity are involved?
- Are remote workers working from home, from other work locations, or travelling from place to place?
You need to consider risks associated with using computers and work equipment, stress, lone working, manual handling, fire and so on. The assessments need to take account of the specific work environment and needs of each employee. So a major consideration will be how you manage individual assessments for many remote workers over a wide geographic area.
Also Read : 5 Must Know Challenges in Managing a Remote Team
You may need to train remote workers to carry out their own assessments. With the manager or trained assessor only becoming involved when there are specific problems that the remote worker can’t deal with. Business must learn and adopt on how to protect remote workers and improve efficiency by managing the risks sensibly.
Remote Worker Responsibility
The remote worker is responsible for complying with company policies and reporting any hazards or issues they notice. Remote workers must make sure they use equipment correctly and take reasonable care of their own health and safety. They must also be aware of the risks their work poses to other people, such as family members (including children).
Remote workers should apply similar furniture and equipment standards to a home workstation as you would in an office. A suitable desk and adjustable chair will normally be needed. These should be ergonomically designed to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal problems. Allowing employees some choice in style will enable them to choose equipment that suits the décor of their house.
Safety Measures of Remote Working Environment
Remote worker needs to ensure good standards of housekeeping, including adequate lighting, removing trailing leads and not using the floor or high shelves for storage. Maintaining equipment and electrical safety. Choose low-voltage or double-insulated equipment, which means the need for regular electrical testing can be minimized. Employee will need to consider how they will carry out scheduled and breakdown maintenance of work equipment.
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Monitoring Remote Workers Health and Safety
Putting in place clear, consistent management systems will reduce risks to remote workers; but it’s only through regular monitoring that you can be sure risks are being controlled adequately and the systems are effective. It’s important to maintain good communication systems and formal means of contact with remote workers.
Asking the remote worker to provide a plan or photo of the workstation, can help the manager check that the assessment is adequate.
Tell your remote workers to avoid prolonged work in unsuitable environments or where they could be vulnerable. Also encourage them to set up their workstation as ergonomically as possible and to take frequent breaks from using mobile equipment.
You also need to assess the risk that an employee might suffer. An accident, illness or assault while they’re working alone. In many cases there won’t be much difference between the risk while travelling and the risk while working alone in other ways. However, sometimes employees may have to visit people or places where they feel more vulnerable or may be at greater risk. Make sure that all of these team members working remotely, have information on how to stay safe when working and travelling alone.
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