Identify and Practice Work from Home Risk Assessment

Since work trends have shifted globally, we must shift the way we run our operations at the workplace. Previously, employers had to take care of the workplace risk assessment; now, they have to keep a check on the home risk assessment.

What is to be noted here is that the shifting trends have not shifted the responsibility of the employers; it's just the locations are shifted. Employers previously had to check whether the office environment is healthy and safe enough for their employees. Now, they must check whether their home ticks off the complete work from the home checklist.

We know that you must be thinking about what can be the need for this. Even though people have developed a work-from-home habit, they can still encounter accidents and injuries, and the employer will be held accountable for this. So, a risk assessment is vital. We know that you must be thinking about what a risk assessment is, in fact. Well, read ahead and explore it yourself. 

What is Working from Home Risk Assessment?

Work from home risk assessment and management is a task allotted to the employers by the state. What they are supposed to do here is that they need to evaluate whether the working conditions of an employee are safe and healthy enough for him to work remotely.

This analysis and evaluation phenomena lie around identifying the risk, devising possible strategies to solve the problem, and implementing those strategies to get the job done. The work from home risk assessment considers all sorts of potential risks so that it is easier to create a safe remote work environment.

Now, you must be wondering what potential risk areas are checked in work from home risk assessment checklist. These aspects are as follows: 

Display Screen(s)

Optical injuries due to an ill placement of your monitor are quite common. You need to check whether your monitor screen is placed at eye level, the screen is not facing the window and avoids glare, and you don’t face any strain as everything is in reach.

Some common ways of getting this right are to change your seating position, blink frequently, and have rest breaks for walking around and stretching a bit to avoid extensive sedentary behavior. 

Work Area

Your employees’ comfort matters the most when it comes to working. So, you should evaluate what sort of work area they have at their home to avoid any mishaps. Their workstation should be spacious enough to ensure they work comfortably. Secondly, the work area should be properly ventilated and de-cluttered so that the workers can work in peace.

In addition to this, ensure that the workspace is well-lit to avoid any optical strain. So, places like garages, sheds, and attics are not suitable for remote work. 

Stress and Wellbeing

Stress is one of the most common issues and home risk assessment that remote workers often face. This is due to an ill routine. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that the worker is not facing burnout by having a frequent check on him.

This can be done properly by having 24/7 communication with your employee and ensuring they are doing great. In addition to this, encourage your office workers to take frequent effective break times during work hours to stay more focused and active. 

Lone Working

When a person is working alone, they are at a greater risk of getting hurt mentally and physically. In such a case, the employee should have all the relevant contacts, for instance, his supervisor, so that he can contact them when needed in an emergency. All of this is better done when you stick to your work-from-home policy. 

Slips, Trips, and Falls

Slips, trips, and falls are more common when an employee is working remotely. So, you have to ensure that the work environment is safe enough to work. Any loose carpet or rug should be removed from the room immediately. In addition to this, remove all sorts of obstacles from the room and ensure that the stairs are clear of any potential hazards. 

Manual Handling

Manual handling is one of the major causes of accidents at the workplace and home risk assessment. People usually don’t face the need for lifting objects or any manual handling tasks but lifting any work from home equipment might be required at times.

So, you should make sure that all required accessories are within an arm’s reach, and if there is any heavy object, it should be placed at a safe spot where you don't have to lift it manually handle them much. 

These are all the important aspects of the checklist that you need to check while planning good work from home risk management strategies. Once you have the idea of what is working from a home assessment and what are the things that you are supposed to check in this evaluation test, the next phase is to learn how to implement it. 

How to Carry Out a Working from Home Risk Assessment?

You can go about working from home risk assessment in five simple steps. The first step is to identify the ergonomic hazards. You can do so by evaluating the aspects that we mentioned above. Once the home risk assessment is identified, think of the person who is at risk and the cause of the risk.

Upon understanding the cause of the risk, try controlling it by taking the right measures and record the progress regularly and perform similar home risk assessments. In addition to this, review the risk assessment once in a while to ensure the employees are not at risk.

All of this will help you plan a better home office idea and ensure you safeguard your employees and ensure they work in a healthy environment even if they are a part of a remote team.