When you’re employed, and you have a workplace to go to, be it a construction site, fabrication facility, or even just an office, you’re there to do just one thing; put in a full day’s work. There’s a contract and legal understanding that exists between you and your employer that is, essentially, an agreement that the employer will provide an environment in which you can safely work, and you, in turn, will do that work. If either party violates that agreement, then, the dispute can be resolved either through being fired, if the employee is at fault, or enforceable legal action if it is the employer.
Even though all employers have a legal obligation to create a safe working environment for employees, not all employers do this. There can be numerous reasons for this, although time and money are the most common reasons. Sometimes an employer simply deems the cost, or the time wasted in making certain safety considerations not worth the effort, especially if accidents are unlikely to happen.
However, if you’re providing a full day’s work, you deserve a safe place to do it in. That’s why you should keep in mind these hazards that can be present in many different types of workplaces.
Height Hazards
This is much more commonplace in trade-related jobs, such as construction or remodeling/renovation. A fall is the #1 cause of injuries in the construction sector, and this is usually due to insufficient safety measures. If, for example, workers are expected to operate at high altitudes, there should be safety harnesses in place to act as a contingency, and the working condition of this equipment should always be confirmed and kept up to date.
If a workplace expects workers to operate at height with little to no safety measures in place to protect against falls, then employees who are injured by falls are owed compensation. It is never legal to force an employee to work without proper safety measures.
Biological Hazards
While the term biological hazards might cause some people to think of strictly industrial settings, this is far from the case. Any workplace may be capable of harboring biological hazards that can hurt the people in the environment if they are not addressed. Mold and/or fungi, for example, can, if ignored, release spores into the air that compromise air quality. For some, this may make the air feel dirty and stuffy while breathing, but for others, who already have respiratory conditions, such as asthma, this can trigger severe breathing reactions.
Other biological hazards are things like animal droppings that can if left to fester, be hubs for different infectious diseases, or even the improper storage of body fluids, such as blood, or urine. Depending on the type of work done, the presence of biological hazards may have a huge impact on the health of people in the workplace, and thus needs to be strictly monitored and properly addressed.
Neglected Work Environments
There’s the old saying “cleanliness is next to godliness,” but in some cases, cleanliness also means a much safer working environment. As hard as it may be to believe, a messy workplace, even in an innocuous location such as an office, can create workplace hazards that can cause some real damage. One of the most common causes of workplace falls and injuries, for example, is the liberal use of extension cords, without giving much thought to placement.
Extension cords may provide electrical power to areas of a room that need it, but if they are left to lie on the floor, they are tripping hazards. Not everyone is always going to be mindful of the presence of an extension cord on the floor, so it’s not surprising that people would lose their footing. In other cases, older equipment may need refurbishing or replacement, such as electrical equipment with exposed or frayed wires or cabling. This equipment may still work just fine, but the lack of insulation and protection against a live electrical current could mean shock and injury for an unsuspecting employee.
Poor Storage
Just because something is put away, that doesn’t mean that “out of sight equals out of mind.” In some cases, poor storage practices can result in workplace injuries in a variety of different ways. In a warehouse setting, for example, trying to pack too many items on shelves, going beyond the recommended capacity, can cause these items to fall, injuring anyone that happens to be in the area.
In another instance, the storage of certain items, such as cleaning fluids or other chemicals should be properly handled with good, airtight containers that are properly closed off and stored away. Improperly stored chemicals can react with the air, even creating dangerous gases that can put workers at risk.
It’s important for employees to know their rights when it comes to the workplace. If you’ve sustained an injury due to negligence in maintaining a safe environment talk to a lawyer experienced with workplace injuries