The holidays are behind us but winter is here for a little longer. As your company progresses through the new year, it is important to include winter safety topics as part of your next workplace meeting. Certain health and safety risks are elevated in winter and your team needs to be informed about what you are doing – and what they can do – to avoid illness and injury.

Take a look at these four major winter safety topics you should bring up at your next meeting. A little time spent in these areas now can pay off big time in terms of employee health and happiness.

Snow and Ice Protocols and Policies

Slips, trips, and falls account for 20% of workplace injuries. Many of these are preventable with strict severe weather guidelines. Communicate in-depth workplace snow and ice policies at your next meeting to ensure that your team is on the same page as to what to do when winter weather strikes. These policies need to extend beyond on-the-job as well. Include measures they can take to keep themselves safe while travelling through the parking lot and sidewalks near your office building. 

Also, if you don’t already have an environmental monitoring system in place, this is a great thing to bring up at the meeting. A system like this ensures that you are protected from certain industry-specific environmental hazards your company may face.

Health Regulations

More than ever before it is imperative that in-office employees understand how to protect themselves from the flu, COVID-19, and other health risks. Discuss what your company has done to ensure the safety of your employees, as well as what your employees need to do to reduce the risk of illness in themselves and others. 

Stress Reduction

Wintertime brings with it an increase in Seasonal Affective Disorder. More than 10 million Americans suffer from this disorder, which is triggered by cold, dim, or harsh environmental conditions. Add to that a pandemic, and your employees are bound to have an increase in stress. Discuss with your team how you plan to offer support for their mental and emotional health at work. You can also offer tips and resources for them to pursue on their own.

Fire and Electrical Safety

Thousands of fires occur in office spaces each year resulting in billions of dollars in damages and hundreds of injuries. In 52% of these cases, the office building did not have a fire alarm system in place. If you do not yet have a fire alarm system, approach this topic at your next meeting and get a system installed. If you do have a system already, perhaps you can discuss better maintenance and replacement protocols. In either case, review your fire safety policies with your team so that all parties understand what they need to do in case of emergency.

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