How to Prepare Your Workplace for Winter
December 21st marks the first day of winter. While it's only November, some parts of Canada may already be facing that cold winter weather. While each province has different winter weather conditions, business owners all over the country will need to deal with the impact that the winter weather brings to the workplace. So, read along to find out what you can do to keep your workplace winter safe.
1. Maintain the Outside of The Your Workplace
The cold weather tends to bring snow, ice, and overall wetness. Make sure that you are prepared for the winter weather by hiring a snow removal company to maintain the outside premises of your office. As a result, employees' cars will be less likely to get stuck in the snow.
Additionally, ice melter should be used on the outside areas to melt any ice caused by winter weather. This will help cars avoid slipping and potentially colliding with other vehicles. It will also assist employees in avoiding injuries that occur as a result of slipping and falling on ice when walking into the workplace.
2. Focus on the Entrance Area
The entrance area of your workplace is bound to encounter employees walking through in their wet boots potentially with ice melt on them. Depending on your flooring, employees may face slippery conditions. Protect your employees from slipping on non-carpeted floors by putting up a caution sign and mopping up the water and ice melt that gets tracked in from outside.
For carpeted and non-carpeted areas, you may want to consider using high-quality floor mats that are durable and absorbent. Employees can use this type of mat to wipe off their boots, helping to avoid the spread of wetness and carpeted areas from being ruined. Since this is only a preventative measure, you may find that your floors are still being affected by the winter weather. We suggest that you use rinse away cleaner to remove the wear and tear caused by the weather on your floors.
Another way to help stop the winter weather from making its way inside your office is to encourage employees to bring a clean pair of shoes to change into. Employees can leave their wet boots/shoes on trays near the entrance.
3. Focus on Your Employees Health
Nothing should be more important than the health of your employees. With the change of weather to cold temperatures, employees may inevitably catch a cold or bug. Encourage employees to work from home or take a sick day when they get ill. Doing so will not only limit the spread of illness throughout the workplace, but it will also help your employees get better faster. Speaking of sickness in the workplace, make sure that there are tissues and hand sanitizer around the office in commonly visited areas to avoid the spread of germs.
4. Keeping Your Workplace the Right Temperature
When winter hits, you may decide to keep your office a little hotter than in the summer. Despite this, you may have some employees complaining that the office is still too cold. Since the temperature is a commonly debated topic, we advise giving personal heaters to employees who tend to find the office colder than everyone else. This way, they can remain warm without the rest of the office being disrupted.
Winter Preparation Is Needed
With winter on its way, your workers' safety must be a number one priority. To do so, you will need to ensure both the outside and inside of the building is properly maintained and that you focus on the health and safety of your employees.