OH&S Applies In The Home Office Too!

Have you thought about Occupational Health & Safety in your home office? It might only be you in the office but safety is still important.

• Do you have leads running across the floor or showing at the back of a desk that is out in the open?
• Do you have young children or pets that could get caught up in the leads or accidentally pull them?
• Do you have clients come into your home office periodically?
• What is lying around or sticking out that might be a hazard to guests in your home?
• Are your filing cabinets secure or do the drawers pop out because of uneven flooring or overfilling of the drawers?

Just because it’s your home doesn’t mean there aren’t hazards and it’s worth checking into these things and casting a critical eye over your workspace.

How about the height of your monitor relative to where you sit? Is it in front of you or to the side slightly? If to the side, how’s your back, shoulders, neck, arms and do you suffer headaches?

Not being in the corporate world means we don’t fall under the OH&S rulings of those departments and we are responsible for our own health and safety.

Be kind to yourself and make sure you have your office set up as a safe environment, that your office furniture and computer equipment are ergonomically aligned and set up properly and that you have regular breaks to give your body a fair chance. You’re in business for the long haul, so hopefully that means your body will be too!

OH&S, safe home office, oh&s in the home