The Future of Health and Safety in the Office

To discover some of the health and safety changes, that you can expect to see in office places in the near future, simply continue reading

 

The future of health and safety in the office:

1. Offices will be better prepared for unexpected emergencies 

In the future, newly built office buildings will be designed to safeguard the lives of office workers, in unexpected emergencies such as in the event of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or a fire, or terrorist attack.

As an example, expect fire proof stairwells to become the norm and for multiple exits to feature in each building. So if one exit is blocked, individuals won’t be trapped inside the building.

As another example, most office buildings will also stockpile emergency supplies such as bottled water, canned food, emergency blankets and first aid kits.

2. Ergonomic office furniture will feature in the vast majority of office places 

While standard office desks and chairs, may be common place today, in the future expect offices to be furnished with ergonomic office furniture, which will decrease officer workers chances of developing strains, sprains or injuries.

As examples working for nine hours a day at a poorly designed table or sitting on an uncomfortable, unadjustable work chair, can cause individuals to develop back strains and neck strains. So it makes sense that office places of the future will boast ergonomically designed pieces of furniture. If you’re interested in more about the health and safety in your workplace you can check out Citation.co.uk Health & Safety services.

3. Office workers will be required to inform their manager if they are injured during work hours

Health and safety procedures will be put in place, in most offices, to ensure that all workplace related injuries will be documented, to see if there is a way to prevent such an accident from occurring again. As an example, if an office worker is injured as the result of tripping on stairs that don’t have a railing, the business who they work for, may put up a railing, to prevent future employees from slipping and injuring themselves.

4. Office environments will be carefully designed to encourage healthy lifestyle

As each year goes by, employers realise that if their employees lead healthy, active, balanced lifestyles, they’ll have far more energy and focus to devote to their job. So expect to see office spaces, which offer on-site gyms, yoga studios and juice bars. As well office spaces which offer quiet relaxation rooms, where employees can take a nap, during their breaks.

Some employers may even go one step further by providing their office workers with extra perks such as free healthy food such as fruit, smoothies or juices. While other employers may pay for their employees’ gym memberships.

5. Employees will be required to take more frequent breaks

As working for hours on end, without a break isn’t healthy, employers will start to offer their office workers more frequent breaks and will require every office worker to take their lunch breaks. As if workers try to work through their lunch break, their energy levels will start to decrease in the afternoon.

In conclusion, in the future health and safety, will become even more important a consideration for office designers, business owners and managers.

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.