On April 28th, 2022, we will observe the World Day of Health and Safety at Work. Many organizations are using this issue as a starting point to organize their own Safety Day, which, in practice, can be held on any day of the year. To that effect, companies can dedicate a day of awareness and training to the issue of health and safety in the workplace. Here, we are going to explain to you exactly what that entails!
Safety Day: What is it?
The Health & Safety Day, also known as Safety Day, is a day that the company devotes to raising awareness among its employees on issues related to health, safety and well-being. The goal is to improve the prevention of health problems in the workplace, taking into account the inherent risks of each profession. Generally speaking, this is a day punctuated by fun events that allow important messages to be given in a laidback way. The goal is also to educate and train employees through activities about safety at work and the issues encountered on a daily basis. These activities must be carefully selected to adapt to the problems of each sector: indeed, a truck driver does not encounter the same difficulties as an IT technician.
The Benefits of Safety Day
For employers
A safety-at-work day helps develop a healthier safety culture. You position yourself as a caring and committed employer, concerned about the working conditions of your employees. By making your employees actors in this approach and by getting them involved on Safety Day, you will be able to further inculcate the messages and issues developed during the training. You raise awareness and mobilize your employees around a common objective to stimulate workplace cooperation. Moreover, the improvement of health and safety helps reduce absenteeism due to work accidents and stoppages. Today, it is crucial that you look after the physical and mental well-being of your teams.
💡To go further, you can read Sitel Group's feedback which adopted a wellness program to boost their employee's health and well-being based on three pillars: move, eat and live well.
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Sitel Group's active commitment to employee health and wellbeing
Safety Day is a win-win situation because employees also have everything to gain. They benefit from a better knowledge of prevention issues, whatever their job or hierarchical level. In the long term, one finds a noticeable improvement in the well-being of employees at companies that organize occasional discussion sessions on health and safety issues. This day also represents a fun and friendly moment to share with colleagues and superiors, which helps to strengthen ties and a feeling of belonging at the company.
A few figures on well-being at work
To give you an idea of the importance of observing a Safety Day, as well as the stakes involved, here are some figures about health and safety at work:
- Three out of five European employees report WMSDs (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work)
- 43% of workers have reported experiencing stress in 2019 (Global Workplace 2021 Report)
- 62% of employees consider well-being support programs/benefits as a top priority when applying for their next job (HR Today)
How to organize a Safety Day?
Your Company Health and Safety Day must be tailored and adapted to your needs. If this is your first run, you might consider seeking the help of specialized service providers. Just bear in mind that the event must remain fun and friendly!
Here are some fundamental steps to follow:
- Communicate before your event: get the word out about your Safety Day via email invitations, posters on internal discussion boards, etc. Involve all departments, if possible, to make to the event more impactful and to generate interest among your employees.
- Put out a participation order: the number of participants is important, which is why it may be wise to make Safety Day mandatory. Have a participation order in small groups that may easily share about worker health and safety, and maintain a good level of focus.
- Make your day fun: alternate between different educational modules; in theory and in practice. Hazard prevention doesn't have to be boring! Be creative to get (and keep) employees interested.
- Challenge and reward participants: to boost participation, there is nothing better than offering rewards. You can also set up a safety challenge to promote team spirit and cohesion. However, there are essential steps and rules to follow to launch a challenge.
- Continue to communicate after Safety Day: this day must be seen as the jumping-off point (or continuity) of a culture of prevention. It will foster the asking of questions and discussions between participants; subjects to be discussed in the weeks to following.
Some ideas for your work safety day
We recommend that you organize a made-to-order Safety Day using tools, themes and activities that are adapted to your operation. For inspiration, here are some ideas that generally work very well in unifying teams:
- Training: training on MSDs, on first aid in the workplace or on gestures and postures to adopt at work, on muscle awakening and ergonomics, on being first aid givers in the workplace, etc.
- Workshops: osteopathy sessions, muscle warm-ups, massage sessions, risk or fall simulators, yoga sessions for the eyes, meditation classes, chair yoga classes, etc.
Despite the attention it gets in April, Safety Day should be seen as a daily effort: safety and prevention at work must be a constant concern! You can set up simple, concrete and recurrent events to keep the safety culture alive and kicking at your company: dedicated newsletters, prevention plans, long-term training sessions, sportive workshops, etc.
