Safety training and the home: how good habits can benefit home life
Workplace safety training not only protects employees at work, but also applies to their daily lives at home and in the community. Think about it. Just as organizational and project management tools can help you run a household, so too can the habits and awareness developed through professional safety training. If you can’t lift well at work, you can’t lift heavy boxes the old-fashioned way at home. You also won’t leave trip hazards in your living room if you have a habit of finding and removing them during your workday.
But beyond these obvious cases, it’s also worth thinking about how we can proactively apply our safety mindset to our homes, which is, after all, where we spend most of our time. How can you increase security at home and make life for yourself and your loved ones safer and more satisfying? Read on to find out!
Modern homes require modern consciousness
Home is a place to relax, of course, but even small apartments are now crammed with facilities and amenities, which despite their tranquil atmosphere can pose increased risks. One eye-opening statistic: A widely cited Swedish study found that when it comes to unintentional injury fatalities, home and leisure settings are almost nine times more likely to die than on public transport. This completely contradicts common perception.
As the complexity of modern life increases, so too does the complexity of both work and home. For most of us, our living spaces include a mix of appliances and conveniences designed to be safe and easy to use. Kitchens in particular use powerful forces that are not normally considered dangerous, such as electricity, water, and heat.
But when fallible people are involved, especially when their judgment is impaired by fatigue, distraction, alcohol consumption, or (this can happen in even the closest of families!) high levels of alcohol consumption, etc. , the risk of unforeseen incidents can increase rapidly. Emotions. The key takeaway here is that next time you take a look around your home like a safety expert, take a look around your home. Given the fact that occupants do not always act in the most rational manner, what kind of accidents could be “waiting to happen”?
Unexpected things can happen anywhere
Let’s look at some everyday scenarios to demonstrate what this means.
When you’re relaxing with a glass of wine at dinner, it’s easy to forget that the stove is still very hot. In addition, a young family tasked with clearing the dinner table for busy parents may have placed a stack of newspapers dangerously close to a forgotten heat source. A vague awareness that something is on fire can quickly turn into panic, and charred paper can turn into a terrible fire.
Sadly, more than four out of five fire deaths in Europe occur in the home.
In the cold season, when you have just gotten out of bed, are in a hurry to get to work or school, or while you are sleeping warm and comfortable in your heated bedroom, the temperature suddenly drops and the ground just outside your front door is covered in new material. It’s easy to forget that it can be dangerous. Pets (which are rare in the average workplace!) can also pose a whole other set of unexpected challenges. An extension leash that could electrocute a teething puppy, unaware of the dangers lurking inside the seemingly inert rubber coil that is just a “chew toy” to your four-legged friend. Is there one?
As John Lennon once sang, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans,” and that’s how we are made and how things go in this world. That’s it. The trick, as we’ll discuss in the next section, is to avoid unexpected situations before they happen by understanding health and safety properly. This is valid 24 hours a day, no matter where you are.
Four “conditions” behind most domestic accidents
So how can safety and health training in the workplace help with such diverse and completely unexpected situations at home? The reason lies in the ubiquitous human factor. If we take a closer look at why mistakes and accidents occur, we will almost always find that the people involved are experiencing one or more of the following four mental or physical states:
hurry
If you rush, you not only risk injury, but it can also damage your relationships. For example, if we are late and stressed, others may think that we don’t care or that we don’t manage our time well. I was irritated
Think about how frustrating it is when you wait in line for your morning coffee for much longer than usual. You might blame the innocent barista who was previously really nice to you. Not a good way to start the day – or him. When we are irritated about something, we are more likely to have an accident. tired
We all know that to be true. When you get tired, mistakes accumulate. This is especially relevant for home life, since we already spend most nights of the week working hard all day long. self-satisfaction
This last one is difficult. When we do something over and over again, our brains tend to go on autopilot. The more skilled we become at something, the more likely our minds will wander. But this is exactly the time when you need to pay special attention.
Home and work may look very different, but they have one thing in common when it comes to calculating risk. That’s what it means to be human.
A Safety Mindset Helps: Safety Training and the Home
The great thing about the risk profiles at work and home being so similar is that the treatments may also be similar in nature. This is why we mentioned above that applying health and safety training to life outside of work hours can be very powerful. Why not try some of these techniques?
Realize that you are in a dangerous state (tired, in a hurry, etc.) and stop yourself before you make a big mistake. We call this “Assessing Your State.” Learn from small mistakes and near misses, whether it’s yourself or someone you love. This is exactly the data needed to prevent serious accidents. Observe how others behave in the house. If you’re honest, you might be doing the exact same thing, but risky behaviors are often easier to spot when others are exhibiting them. One big problem is leaving food cooking on the gas stove while you run errands in another room. An eagle-eyed witness will quickly point out that you are actually leaving a naked flame, which is never a good idea. Incorporate better safety habits into your daily life. Sooner or later in life, we come to understand that routine is a superpower if we can learn to take advantage of it.
Safety doesn’t end when your shift ends. This is a mindset and habit that is useful in all areas of life, including at home with family and friends.
Further information: First published at www.youfactors.com.
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