The health and safety of employees should be the top priority of employers. A healthy workforce can be equivalent to a successful organization. If you show care and value your employees’ health and well-being, they will reward you by being productive and efficient in their jobs. Whether you’re running an office, a warehouse, or a construction site, they have two common denominators: valuable employees and your obligation to care for them and keep them safe.
For example, are your employees equipped to provide first-aid solutions when a metal cutting machine in your Utah shop break down and causes an accident? Do they know what steps need to be taken if one of their coworkers happens to be injured during the incident? Sure, they’ll call 911 first and be guided accordingly, but are they well-equipped with skills and knowledge?
Many organizations shrug off the importance of providing first-aid and CPR training to their employees. They think that having a company nurse or the ability to call emergency medical services is enough. Your obligation as an employee goes beyond calling an ambulance for an injured worker. You and your staff need to take care of this employee until paramedics arrive in your workplace.
Create a Positive Work Environment
Employees are more confident to do their jobs well when they know that the company cares for them. Sending them to first-aid training and seminars shows that you are willing to invest in them. This is an instant morale booster for your employees. It shows that you value their well-being and care for their safety.
Train Employees for Critical Life-and-death Situations
When your employees have first-aid and CPR training, they can respond faster to emergencies. Most of the time, this spells the difference between injured employees losing their lives and surviving an accident. Unfortunately, many workers, including those working in hazardous work environments such as construction sites, are unprepared to respond to accidents on time. This lessens the chances of the employees surviving an accident. At the very least, your employees should provide emergency care until the paramedics arrive.
Provide Life-saving Skills
Some of your employees may be living in remote areas inaccessible to hospitals and emergency rooms. Training them in first aid and CPR provides them with life-saving skills that they can use in their homes and communities. Those who attended a first-aid course will learn more than just about simple techniques. They will also learn about using basic medical equipment, bandaging cuts, and resuscitating someone who has lost consciousness.
Meet Legal Obligations
The U.S.’ Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to ensure the safety of their workers. This applies to all industries. It’s not only for construction and mining sites and other hazardous workplaces. Failure to send your employees to first-aid training can result in lawsuits.
It’s not even expensive to send employees to a first-aid seminar. An organization stands only to benefit from the knowledge that their employees will gain during the training. It remains a mystery, while many see this as an unnecessary expense.
