3.65 Staff Welfare facilities, Premises and wellbeing.

Welfare in this context is meeting the comfort and safety needs of your staff and customers includes hours of work, rest periods, travel distances, Premises, facilities and equipment in local and remote locations. An ideal companies welfare approach would be that employees physical and mental needs are fully considered.

Facilities → Wellbeing → Engagement → Productivity → Safety Performance

People perform better when they have:

• clean facilities
• comfortable workspaces
• adequate rest areas
• good lighting
• ventilation
• access to drinking water
• clean washrooms
• suitable temperatures
• respectful workplace culture

Research and regulations consistently recognize welfare facilities as a fundamental part of workplace health and safety. Adequate toilets, washing facilities, drinking water, rest areas, ventilation, temperature control and suitable workspaces are considered basic requirements for worker health and wellbeing. 

Factor in the Weather – Conditions change by the hour ensure adequately prepared.

Consider the best protection

In canada we have to work in extreme colds in the winter and the hot humid summers. Yet many locations are not provided with a sun shelter, heated or cooled rest area, showers or decent toilet facilities. When I asked what do remote workers on the electrical grid do for habitats I was told they would sit in their trucks! There is a need for proper heated or cooled restrooms and 1st aid facilities to a higher standard in remote locations.

Protect your safety equipment like ladders, lifting equipment signs etc. If not available on the job the right equipment will not be used as intended.

Provide PPE that is well maintained and stored

Stress is a difficult hazard to measure, Indicators like time off work and boredom. A noisy and poor lighting environment can cause tiredness and eye strain. I suggest rotate job roles to keep staff actively engaged and more informed on the organizations opportunities.

I remember a situation where the parking enforcement dept manager was showing signs of stress. My conversation revealed that the Manager had sat in the same office for over 10years. I rotated her into the Health and safety department for 6 months, at the end of the rotation the parking manager was grateful for the opportunity and the experience enabled her to increase her portfolio, develop her career and apply for other positions.

To flip the coin – to coin a phrase, when the UK had a shortage of workers due to the Bubonic Plague employers had to make extra efforts to attract them and provide housing. Cadburys built Cadburys a whole village for the workers.

I have often heard workers saying “I like working here they look after you and these are first class premises”. We expect workers to respect the workplace employers should therefore show a similar respect to workers welfare and facilities and general well-being.

Tune into your staffs needs – ask yourself “would doing that job be stressful” ?

Hovercraft service proposed for Toronto to Niagara – A step up change in Transport

Hovercraft is a great opportunity