by Sharon Jones

Health and safety is a massive concern for all businesses. There are a lot of rules and regulations about health and safety and if you get caught on the wrong side of them, you could find yourself in some real legal trouble. In dangerous industries like construction, there are a lot of clear dangers that you need to deal with but in an office setting, those dangers aren’t quite as obvious. Obviously, it’s important that you avoid any injuries from trips and falls and have a proper procedure in place if there is a fire, but beyond that, you might not know what you should be watching out for.

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If you don’t identify a hazard until after an injury occurs, it’s already too late. You’ll find yourself on the receiving end of a big lawsuit and that can do irreparable damage to your company. That’s why it’s important that you’re aware of the dangers around the office and you tackle them before they cause an incident. These are the hidden hazards around the office that you probably haven’t considered yet.

Computer Cables

When you’ve got an office full of computers, you’ve got a lot of cables trailing around all over the place. They’re a massive trip hazard and they can easily lead to a serious workplace injury. You can’t just plug everything in and let the wires fall where they may. You need to make sure that they’re hidden away under the desks and secured to the floor so they’re not trailing around all over the place. You should also invest in wireless technology where possible. It’s a little more expensive but it makes life easier for everybody and reduces the chances of trips and falls.

The Problem With Sitting

You wouldn’t think that sitting down was a dangerous activity but it’s actually incredibly bad for your health. It could cause a lot of problems with the spine which, if left unchecked, can lead to some serious health issues. That’s why you need to invest in proper chairs from an experienced office furniture manufacturer. Good quality chairs that offer the proper support will make so much difference to your employees and protect their health. Being stationary for too long can also increase weight gain and even increase your chances of developing heart disease or diabetes in the long term. It’s important that you combat those dangers and luckily, it’s not that hard. You just need to encourage people to get up from their desk and take a walk around once an hour. It might be worth introducing some healthy initiatives like a cycle to work scheme where you give employees money toward a bike. Improving the physical health of your employees will help them to work more productively.

Eye Strain

Staring at a computer all day long is terrible for your eyes and if you’re doing it for years, you’re going to end up doing some permanent damage. There’s a pretty simple solution to this though, it’s called the 20/20/20 rule. It’s simple, you just need to take a break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds. That will help to refocus your eyes and stop them from getting strained. Tell everybody in the office that they need to be doing this throughout the day.

If you’re particularly worried about it, it might be worth covering the cost of eye exams for your employees so they can get prescriptions for glasses if they need them. Early detection will stop the problem from becoming any worse.

Repetitive Strain Injury

Repetitive strain injury is a real problem for office workers. Using a mouse and typing all day long causes a lot of unnecessary stress on the joints and tendons in your hands. Taking regular breaks is one simple way around this but even then, your employees could be at risk. Your posture when you’re working on a keyboard is essential as well; always keep a straight back and your feet firmly on the ground. Keeping your hands in the right position with your elbows at about a 100 degree angle to the desk, never resting them on the desk, is important. If you really want to reduce the risk to your employees, you need to invest in better equipment. A standard mouse and keyboard aren’t very easy on the hands so you should invest a bit of money into ergonomic ones.

If you’re not aware of these hidden office dangers, you’re putting yourself and your employees at risk every single day.