Home in on safety

Keep your at-home workers safe and well, and you'll do more than meet your legal obligations

BY Maria Hoyle 10 Aug 2021

When the Health and Safety at Work Act came into effect in 2016, who could have foreseen that, just five years on, more than 40% of Kiwis would be doing at least part of their work from home? That was during COVID levels 3 and 4, but we got a taste of flexible working… and we liked it.

Which means that employers’ legal duty to keep staff safe now extends to living rooms, home offices, family kitchens or whichever space at-home workers can find.

Aside from that legal obligation, setting up employees with optimum work conditions – whether it’s at your inner-city HQ or their rural lifestyle block – shows you’re fully on board with a hybrid arrangement and will do everything reasonably possible to make it work. And, in today’s climate, with near full employment and companies eager to attract and retain staff, it’s a good message to get across, says Craig Furness, CEO NZ of global claims management specialist Gallagher Bassett.

“People have an expectation that employers will offer an element of flexibility, and having well developed processes to facilitate that flexible working really helps.”

While over the past year some 60% of Gallagher Bassett employees have been working from home in some capacity, the organisation hasn’t seen any injuries since last year’s level 4.

“That is a clear indication that if you get your work-at-home guidelines, processes and checks in place, you can avoid people having these sorts of accidents,” says Furness.

So how do you get those guidelines right?

First, be stringent from the outset. “Be clear what the expectation and requirements are. It’s important the employer and employee accept they are both responsible for health and safety,” says Furness. “At Gallagher Bassett, we have a formal application process for working from home. Employees fill out a detailed home-based workstation assessment check list with questions around the general environment, equipment and its positioning, electricals, whether it’s a dedicated space or a shared location. They also provide photos of the space. They don’t get to work from home until it has been determined whether their home workstation is appropriate.”
Ensure the at home workspace is correctly set up – The Health and Safety Act applies no matter the location. Just as you do in the office, have clear instructions and guidelines so your employees working environment is safe, comfortable and easy to use. “Remember that a workstation that is set up incorrectly can create poor postures leading to musculoskeletal injury and eye strain. Often when working from home, the length of time that you sit in these postures also adds to the risk for injury and health problems associated with long periods of sitting.”
Work through any issues identified. It might be as simple as talking the employee through their particular challenges, or supplying the right equipment. It might even involve – as long as the employee agrees, of course – a visit to assess what could be improved upon.
Check in on a regular basis – In one-on-one conversations with your team, include a standard item around how the work-from-home arrangement is going.
Remind people of healthy work practices… ie, a clear distinction between work time and everything else. “If you are constantly trying to run between your workspace and other duties in the house, you leave yourself open to physical trips and slips. You also you end up being distracted.” That not only affects productivity, but also mental health as you try to juggle work and home responsibilities simultaneously.
Make work-from-home part of the culture. “We have offices in Christchurch, in Dunedin, in Auckland and at your house. That needs to be the mindset,” says Furness. “We did some fun stuff during lockdown, getting people to send photos of their home workstation to get them engaged around working from home.”
And if there is an injury... Can you put an occupational therapist in place to assist, is physio required? “Irrespective of whether they are home or in the office, you want your people back working again so you support them how you can,” says Furness.