Designing the Perfect Office for Health and Safety

We spend a lot of our lives at work and where we work can have just as big an effect as our role itself. Let’s face it, most of us have been in less than perfect conditions at some point in our careers!

What is undeniable is that where we work has a strong effect on how we feel. It’s a big influence on our level of safety during the working day. Almost all workplace accidents are avoidable and design can play an important role in stopping problems in their tracks before anyone gets injured.

It’s rare for an employer to have the opportunity to design an office from scratch. But little changes can help too. Whether you’re re-fitting an existing workplace, relocating somewhere new or simply tweaking your existing arrangements, there are changes you can make to benefit all employees.

Getting the Basics Right

The workplace’s layout is one of the most important aspects of its health and safety. In lots of cases, the design features will not be consciously noticed but will nudge people towards more safe behaviour.

Try to make every area accessible to all. Don’t just take your current staff members into account. Even if few employees have mobility issues now, that doesn’t mean new hires won’t – and existing employees can develop them too. It pays to be prepared.

Take into account evacuation procedures. Whether it’s a fire, a bomb threat, flooding or another sudden event, you may need to get everyone out quickly and safely during stressful situations. Having a well thought out plan in place, backed up by sensible placing of workstations near to the exits, can make all the difference.

The lighting must always be carefully placed and strong enough to ensure maximum visibility. This is especially true around stairs and in storage areas. Many slips, trips and falls are completely avoidable but happen because people can’t see where they’re going. This extends to outside areas too. It could be a personal safety issue to have employees walking long distances through the dark on their way home.

Employers should also consider hygiene. Standards in this area can make the difference between one person having a bug and spreading it like wildfire through the whole office.

People should have space to move around during the day. Sitting at desks for entire working days isn’t healthy for many reasons and can contribute to musculoskeletal issues.

Minimising Stress

Stress is a huge issue for UK workplaces. Millions of us suffer from work-related stress every year, with many of these cases becoming long-term and resulting in illness.

Of course, the design of a person’s office isn’t the only factor at play. “Working conditions” doesn’t just mean physical conditions, and policies such as flexible working, a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and harassment, and fair pay can all make a huge difference to the mental health of workers. Even a perfectly designed office won’t change the culture if people are overworked and bullying is rife. Employers need to look at the full picture when improving working environments and avoid the temptation to look for a quick fix.

That doesn’t stop the environment itself from having a huge impact. People benefit from a wide variety of types of spaces in their offices. As well as the traditional desks, make room for areas to relax during breaks, smaller “quiet areas” for involved individual work requiring concentration and meeting rooms for teamwork. The sort of space your colleagues need will depend on the sort of work they do, so there’s no “one size fits all” solution.

Bringing some elements of nature into the workspace has benefits for employee health and wellbeing. This doesn’t have to be complicated: even a few well-placed plants near to where people work can make a difference.

Colour theory suggests even the décor can have an impact on stress levels. The rule of thumb suggests blue is good for productivity, green is calming and yellow is energising. No colour should be over-used but it can be a fun guide when deciding which spaces should be which colour.

There are so many factors at play that affect health and safety in the workplace. Looking at the layout and design of the office is just one step employers can take to ensure they’re taking their duty of care to their workers seriously.

Could a Bomb Threat Happen at your Workplace?

When we think of bomb threats in the workplace, we might be reminded of scenes from action films. Unfortunately, bomb threats are very real – and pose a genuine danger to everyone in any workplace and its surroundings.

Disruption

Bomb threats are reported relatively often. No type of workplace is immune.

In August 2019, a bus in Plymouth was evacuated after a man told the driver he had left a bomb onboard whilst “winking and smiling”. Though the body language of the person making the threat may have suggested it was a hoax, the driver did the right thing and evacuated the bus. After police checked thoroughly for anything suspicious, it appeared the threat was a false alarm.

Weeks later, an office in Liverpool had to be evacuated due to a bomb threat. Although there was no bomb, the psychological effects on the people who had to be evacuated and the lost time were real.

One of the most dramatic and widespread incidents occurred in 2018. A British teenager emailed bomb threats to over 1700 UK schools, colleges and nurseries. Hundreds of them were evacuated as a result, causing distress and chaos for the families involved. He also made a false hijacking claim about a transatlantic flight, causing it to be grounded and undergo a full security check. Though there were no explosives involved in any of the incidents involved, these crimes were enough to result in a prison sentence of several years.

Unfortunately, not all bomb threats turn out to be baseless. In 1996 the Manchester bombing devastated parts of the city, and mass casualties were only avoided because the authorities were able to evacuate tens of thousands of people in the minutes between the threat being received and the detonation of the bomb. This highlights how proper preparation and training can save lives and prevent injuries.

Whether a bomb threat turns out to be real or false, many of the effects are the same: people’s lives are disrupted and it’s often a traumatic experience for those involved.

Handling Bomb Threats Safely

Bomb threats can come from many different channels: verbally, over the phone, via the mail, online or through notes.

If you receive a bomb threat, it’s vital to stay as calm as possible. Follow the correct emergency procedures and remember any bomb threat training you have received.

Emergency response training gives employees the confidence they know what to do in serious situations where every second counts.

NEW RELEASE: Bomb Threat eLearning Short Course

It’s an ordinary morning at work. The phone rings and you answer. The voice on the other end tells you there’s a bomb in your building. It’s going to go off in an hour. What do you do?

This nightmare scenario has happened at many different types of workplace. Bomb threats can be delivered via phone, email, post, social media, verbally or in writing. In many cases they will be hoaxes, but it’s never safe to make that assumption.

Our Bomb Threat eLearning short course gives all employees the peace of mind of knowing how to handle this distressing scenario. The course makes the situation feel “real” by putting the learner directly into the shoes of an employee receiving a bomb threat. They have to answer the questions correctly to keep everyone safe and pass the course.

It is the third course to be released from our Emergency Response suite, which includes Explosion, Civil Unrest, Active Shooter, Suspicious Items and Medical Emergency.

See our new course HERE.