Stay Engaged to Stay Healthy
Most of us know that it’s critical to
engage our customers and clients, but what about our employees?
Can a business survive with effective but bored staff? As
governments increase enforcement and penalties for workplace-related accidents and safety violations (not to mention lawsuits from hurt workers and their insurance companies), organizations that don’t actively push to prevent injuries are gambling on their financial futures.
A form of engagement, though probably not the most practical one.
While safety risks are obvious in construction and manufacturing, expensive
emotional and
physical harm can still occur at
any workplace.
Fortunately, if you can engage employees, you can
cut risk and increase profit.
At the 2300-worker Buffalo branch of UPS, increasing engagement decreased workplace injuries by
20%.
At Molson Coors, engaged employees are safer, have lower performance costs, and more effective sales teams. When people did get hurt, incidents with
engaged employees cost only a fraction of those with unengaged employees.
How to prevent injuries by engaging workers
- Stop workplace bullying — Workplace harassment and bullying is more common than many people realize. Victims are often frustrated, distracted, or depressed, which can cause them to be careless in their work or home lives. A team that feels safe will actually be safer. Make sure your whole team knows how to report harassment, and is comfortable doing so.
- Reduce stress — Job engagement promotes job satisfaction, but stressed out workers can be careless. Research shows that people who feel their workload is insurmountable or interferes with their personal lives are less satisfied—they can be less productive, take more sick days, and make more health-related insurance claims.Make sure your team members have time to pursue their own projects, to relax, and to take a vacation.
- Cater to your staff — Happy workers are engaged workers. Celebrate successes, recognize achievements, and take time to get to know one another. Set realistic expectations, and meet your team’s realistic expectations of you.
If you’ve set the bar too high or too low, your employees will tune you out. This disengagement could impact their health—and your bottom line.
