How to Make Your Staff Feel Safe at Work and Boost Productivity – There are many important aspects of being a great manager. You should be able to have tough conversations, give constructive feedback, provide encouragement, and even navigate the often-tricky topic of mental wellbeing. However, there’s one crucial thing that’s easily forgotten when it comes to successful people management, and that’s the importance of making sure your staff feel safe at work.
The repercussions of employees feeling unsafe or anxious about their health can be detrimental to the workplace. If not addressed these issues can have a domino effect throughout the business. But with a little planning, you can take steps to prevent anxiety around health and safety and ensure your team feel protected and secure at work.
Here, we explore why you should ensure your staff feel safe and how this can improve productivity.
The importance of making your staff feel safe
It’s no secret that we find it harder to focus when we’re feeling stressed or anxious. A recent study by Champion Health found that workplace stress and anxiety can significantly affect productivity, so it’s clear that performance and mental wellbeing go hand in hand.
Anxiety at work has become a bigger issue than ever since the pandemic. On top of deadlines and general work stress, we’re now also worried about our risk of contracting coronavirus during our commute or at work. Ensuring your staff feel protected at work could reduce the risk of work-related anxiety and encourage optimal performance.
Obtain the right insurance
Taking out insurance will protect your business in the event something goes wrong. It may give your employees a better sense of security too. For example, if you own a shop, your staff may have concerns about shoplifters and whether they will still be expected to stop a thief in the act.
However, knowing you have insurance for your shop may make them feel safer and less responsible if a theft does occur, which could reduce their anxiety about going to work.
Tips for boosting employee productivity
It’s always easier to stay motivated when you’re genuinely interested in your work. Encouraging your staff to learn new skills and broaden their horizons may give them a renewed sense of confidence and interest in their role.
Your employees can only work as fast as their equipment, so if your team are using 15-year-old computers and old-fashioned databases, it’s likely productivity isn’t going to be high. Investing in modern technology could make it easier for your staff to work effectively and efficiently, increasing overall productivity throughout the company.
Poppy Watt