LONE WORKER PROTECTION NO SPACE LIKE HOME


Jackie Furey, Director of Where Workplace Works, provides guidance on helping employees stay safe and healthy as homes become the new office.


Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, remote working was something only a small number of employers encouraged, but social distancing and isolation has forced great change. In recent months, businesses have had no other option but to implement remote working, meaning many workers who have never experienced homeworking, have jumped in feet first.


Out of the 32.6 million workers in the UK, only 5% worked from home during 2019, in fact, the Office of National Statistics reported that as many as 70% of workers, (which totals to 23.9 million people), had no experience whatsoever of homeworking, prior to the lockdown. For that vast number of people, there will be many noticeable differences and challenges that homeworking will bring.


So, what measures can we take to ensure the safety in the homes of these new remote workers? How can we prevent risks in an environment we cannot see- and what are some of the potential dangers homeworkers face?


CREATING A SAFE HOME-WORKSTATION For many people working at home for the first time,


the options of where they can work will seem vast. However, the most appropriate space should be identified and used hereafter, and the temptation to work elsewhere should be avoided. For example, the comfort of bed, or a sofa may be attractive in the morning- or the garden may seem perfect when the weather is sunny. However, choosing spaces that are not best designed for work at home, present potential risk. Musculoskeletal injuries, neck and back pain, eye strain, repetitive strain injuries can all occur as a result of choosing the wrong homeworking environment.


Staff should do their best to use ergonomically safe furniture, or as a bare minimum, should be offered advice on choosing a chair that is comfortable to use for long periods of time. Staff should also be provided with details of ideal desk heights, and how to adjust screens to optimal height. If you can, help staff source things like suitable mice and keyboards and always encourage them to have proper and regular breaks, as these are necessary, but often overlooked.


Ideally, your staff should assess their own home and be encouraged to choose the best space. This assessment should consider ventilation and lighting, noise, surrounding space for equipment, movement of others and proximity to power points.


Once this workplace area is selected, work should take place here, and here only. This means, the potential risks are eliminated. For example, a worker that chooses to work in an alternative area, such


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as the kitchen, may suddenly have power cables stretched across walking spaces (potentially near hot items). Using a single room (or small area of a living space) makes it easier to assess risk and create a safe space, rather than risk assessing the whole building and garden.


Once this area is established, try and keep the environment just for work and have the relevant equipment such as printers, files and documents within this space. Keep it free of clutter, dust and other potential fire hazards


ASSESS THE SPACE Once the area is identified, and equipment and


furniture added in the best possible way, you could provide a self-assessment guidance list that enables homeworkers to establish the safety of their environment. This could cover all essentials including air quality, lighting, risks of visual hazards, surrounding space, storage, equipment and potential electronic hazards, ergonomics and so on. You could go a step further and ask homeworkers to send images of their space so that a member of staff with expertise of experience of health and safety can review or audit the environment, pointing out overlooked hazards, and offering advice.


“Staying in your pyjamas, and occasionally tending to household duties, are the first steps in losing track of time, and inevitably the boundaries between work and home become blurred.”


AVOIDING STRESS AND MAINTAINING GOOD


MENTAL HEALTH One of the biggest dangers in working from home on a long-term basis, is that communication with peers is lost and therefore stress inevitably heightens. A huge cause of stress for the homeworker is isolation, which, given the current situation, is unfortunately unavoidable.


Interaction with others ordinarily acts as a defence to this, as those conversations over a coffee or discussions at the water cooler enable staff members to vent spleen. Strategies for organisational teams to maintain that contact is critical in lowering staff stress levels. Communication across teams and staff, should be


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