Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Psychological Safety in the Workplace Psychological safety within organisations is when people feel comfortable being themselves and that they won’t be criticised for speaking their minds or sharing ideas. Our physical safety in the workplace is a vital element of an excellent working environment, but for people to truly reach their potential they also need to feel psychologically safe. When we feel psychologically safe in any environment we are able to be creative, take moderate…
5 Tips for Organizing your Safety Meetings
5 Tips for Organizing Your Safety Meetings How productive are your monthly safety meetings? Are they just a tick-the-box exercise and you get nothing done? Your safety committee can be a fantastic tool for your Health and Safety Toolbox. Here are five tips to make sure you are getting the very best out of your team. 1. Define the purpose of the Safety Committee Bring it back to basics and decide what the actual purpose…
Promote safety practice in the workplace
Promote safety practice in the workplace Around the world, nearly 2/3 of accidents at work are linked to behavioural problems (violation of procedures, failure to comply with safety rules, errors, etc.). It is therefore logical to think that changing these behaviours will reduce the number of accidents. But how can we recognise them? How can we transform them so that our professional sphere becomes safer? And how can we deal with those who, aware of…
How to avoid common health and safety issues in the workplace?
How to avoid common health and safety issues in the workplace? Work-related injuries and illnesses can have serious effects on the lives of workers and their families, as well as on their employers. According to the International Labour Organization, more than 370 million people are injured or become ill in work-related accidents every year. The institution estimates that the cost of working days lost due to health and safety issues amounts to almost 4 per…
Winter Wellness for Employees
Winter Wellness for Employees GEMMA COLLINS EHS Consultant EazySAFE Well, it’s that time of the year again, where you may hear a chorus of sniffles and coughs as you walk through any workplace (and if you are like me, hold your breath and hope you don’t catch what they have!) As an employer, you want a happy, healthy workforce and I am pretty sure you don’t like getting those 9 am phone calls when one…
VDU Assessment – Are you sitting comfortably?
VDU Assessment - Are You Sitting Comfortably? GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE One of my favourite parts of my job, as a health and safety consultant, is carrying out VDU assessments for people. Why? Because a difference can be made almost immediately! Such simple changes can help people sit more comfortably, ease any pain they are experiencing and create a better working environment. What are the legal requirements? Many employees or even employers…
Understanding Safety: How to Approach Worker Consultation
Understanding Safety: How to Approach Worker Consultation ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE Worker consultation is a legal requirement within Irish health and safety legislation so that employers can carry out their duties in law to communicate workplace hazards and to promote occupational health and safety. Communications is a key component of any safety management system (both from the top-down and from the bottom-up) for employers, employees and third parties to be involved with the exchange…
Respect in the Workplace
Respect in the Workplace LISA QUINN O'FLAHERTY Solicitor Fitzsimons Redmond It is tempting for employers to draft a Bullying and Harassment Policy for their workplace, and then sit back in the hope that everyone will play nicely and get along. Unfortunately, human relationships are complex, and conflict is likely to arise in every workplace. It is the job of the employer to create a working environment where conflict is well managed, and a culture of…
Effective Safety Management: The Business Argument
Effective Safety Management: The Business Argument ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE Ireland has a good track record for accidents in the workplace. Data shows that Ireland has the lowest standardised incidence rates (per 100,000 employees) of fatal accidents at work for 2018 and averaged rates from 2015 – 2017 at 0.45 and 0.96 respectively. However, if you were related to any of the people who had been killed at work in these time frames here…
Manual Handling
Manual Handling GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE Back injuries and back pain are something that most people suffer during their lifetime. A lot of the time, back injuries happen in the workplace. In fact, according to the HSA manual handling accidents are the most common accidents (2019) and these accidents usually cause back injuries. So, it makes sense for any company to focus on reducing all manual handling risks as much as possible to ensure employees are…