Imagup General Magazine 2024
Ideally, employees would feel that their workplace is safe, but that’s sadly not the case. Even today, in 2024, many employees face challenges at work that make them feel unsafe or worried.
While employees may expect their employers to take on responsibility for their safety, employees themselves should also be actively trying to protect themselves in various ways.
This can be easier said than done, which is why this article will share four steps that employees can take to increase their safety.
Don’t be afraid to get legal assistance
If you think your employer treating you unethically, you should not hesitate to contact an employment lawyer like HKM in Houston for assistance and advice.
Of course, such drastic action isn’t always necessary, but if the issue can’t be resolved internally, taking things a step further may be your only option. If your employers or coworkers are treating you unfairly by discriminating against you or harassing you, this is even more important.
Your safety needs to come first, and an employment lawyer can help with that.
Think things through before signing a contract
The next step you should do is to thoroughly read through any employment contract before signing it. When you get a job offer, you may be so excited about it that you’re tempted to simply sign the contract without properly reading it.
However, this isn’t a good idea. You always need to read a contract multiple times before signing it and clarify any queries you may have. You can even have someone else read over the contract as well to get a second opinion if that puts you more at ease.
Once again, this is something an employment lawyer can help with. If you’re not sure what to look for in a contract, you can click here for some helpful tips.
Don’t breach your contract
Speaking of contracts . . . As mentioned, you need to ensure that you read through your contract so that you don’t get taken advantage of and so that your rights are respected.
However, it goes both ways. The simple truth is that if you breach your contract or do anything illegal such as steal from the company you work for, you can lose your job, and if you do, there won’t be much you can do about it.
Learn self-defense
Here’s the thing: keeping yourself safe at work is honestly not that different from keeping yourself safe outside of work, at least not when it comes to the physical aspect of your safety. That means that you should know how to keep yourself safe both in and out of work.
If you work in a dangerous area or you have to walk to work, knowing some self-defense is always a good idea, especially since you may not be allowed to carry weapons or pepper spray with you at your place of work.
Again, this is something that can help keep you safe regardless of where you are, so it’s definitely something to look into.
Think about your finances
Anything can happen at any time, which means that you can lose your job. And if you lose your job, you will also lose your income.
Therefore, it’s a good idea for employees to protect their finances in case anything should happen. You should always think big expenses through instead of making impulse purchases. Instead, look into options like savings accounts, investments, or financial planning to ensure that you are being responsible with your finances.
Always be on alert
Most of us are used to being on alert when we’re out and about, but we tend to relax and stop paying as much attention to our surroundings when we’re at work. Of course, this is understandable – most workplaces will be relatively safe.
That being said, it’s still a good idea to always pay attention to what’s happening to you. If you tend to work until late at night, that’s even more important, especially if you are ever alone at the office. There’s no need to start being suspicious and tense every time you enter your office building, but being more observant is always a good idea.
Don’t ever delete anything
The final tip that employees should follow when trying to protect themselves is to never delete anything.
Don’t delete any work-related communications like emails or text messages, but rather keep them in case anyone ever accuses you of something. This way, you can use these previous communications as evidence of your innocence.
It’s not pleasant to think about your employer or coworkers turning on you, but again, you should err on the side of caution. You don’t need to keep everything on your phone or laptop – you can make backups and store them somewhere safe. Hopefully, you won’t ever need them, but it’s good to have them just in case. As always, it’s better to be safe rather than sorry.
Protect your cybersecurity
Finally, you need to remember that there are multiple ways in which employee safety can be breached. So, instead of only trying to think about safety in the physical sense, you should also think outside the box and try to keep yourself safe in other ways as well.
For example, you should focus on your cyber safety, especially at work. Never share passwords or click any suspicious links. If your cyber security is compromised, both you and the company that you work for can lose a lot.
In conclusion
Employee safety can be a difficult subject to tackle, simply because it’s so broad. After all, you can keep yourself safe at work the same way you would outside of work, through things like learning how to physically defend yourself. But employee safety isn’t just about physical safety – there are also other elements to consider, such as legal security, cyber security, and financial safety.
Hopefully, this post gave you a better idea of what you can do to protect yourself in general, but more specifically, how you can protect yourself as an employee.
