Health and Safety?

The issue of employee health and safety is very important in Canadian workplaces. Not only do accidents and poor health affect the bottom line, Canada has strong legislation in place to protect working Canadians.

There are three components related to workplace health and safety:

• the common sense actions of employees (like closing a drawer after opening it)
• the rules in a particular workplace related to the products and/or the environment of the organization
• federal and provincial legislation aimed at worker safety

Work with a team to develop the common sense actions you take to ensure safety in your home. Repeat the activity but think of the classroom and the building you come to everyday. Post the lists side by side. Are there similarities? Differences? Decide which of these actions you take (or rules that you follow) that would be the same in workplaces.

A lot of what we do at work is the same as we do at home to ensure our health and safety. Things like getting enough sleep, eating properly, lifting using safe techniques, keeping pathways clear and using proper tools to complete jobs or tasks. This is called using your common sense.