With so many things to think about in running a business and a family (not to mention the myriad other tasks we have on our plate)–safety may not take center stage. It is exactly in times of distraction and busy-ness that accidents are likely to happen. If you work out of your home, it is important to make sure you are applying safety standards to your home business AND if you are caring for children while also working from home–you’ll need to be extra diligent to make sure that keeping everyone safe doesn’t get overlooked in the hectic day-to-day.
If your children are with you in your home office space, warehouse, etc., it is important to make sure that your business operations apply the same age-appropriate safety standards that you would apply to the rest of your house. Computers, fax machines and other office-type equipment are so incredibly tempting to young children and there are so many cords, moving parts and other possibilities for injury. If your children crawl or play in your work space–you’ll need to make sure that it is “baby” or child-proofed with care.
Watch out for open shelves of potential toxic inventory, unsafely stacked boxes and product that children could pull over on themselves. Packing materials can also pose a real safety risk to children–plastic wrap, Styrofoam, etc. can all be potentially dangerous and should be kept out of the reach of small children.
You should also keep an eye on your office supplies–scissors and other sharp objects, cleaning materials or even White-out can be dangerous when in the wrong little hands. Doing a good check and then periodically looking over your work space to make sure that dangerous objects and supplies are out of reach or locked away is a good idea. You’ll also want to make sure any furniture or shelving you use is child-safe and child-proof.
Accidents do happen on the job–and just because we are working from home doesn’t mean we’re immune. We have the added obligation of keeping our children safe while we’re running our businesses.
See Also: Home Safety Tips