Working from Home Safety Tips

During this unprecedented time, more and more people continue to work from home. With this new working lifestyle come some additional challenges. It’s important for employers to keep their employees safe outside of the office — rather, in their new office. The same dangers present in an office are at the home, but additional dangers can arise: a break-in, fire or natural event, or an accident with children and pets. How can employers keep their employees safe, and how can workers make sure their home is protected? Here are a few work from home safety tips.

The Challenge

Prior to the global trend of working from home, it was not uncommon to see some homes outfitted with fully functional offices. These were for people who worked remotely, or simply those who needed to complete other tasks at the house. Working from home is not necessarily riskier than working in an office, but when you work from home there isn’t a boss, safety code, or standards that need to be met to keep everyone safe. Each individual is unique and will have their own safety needs.

Work from Home Safety Tips:

• Never overload power strips with appliances.

• Secure your equipment, including fax machines, printers, scanners, computers, and other materials, and make sure they are placed in an area with good ventilation.

• Use discretion when meeting with new clients outside of your space.

• If you’re having a meeting or going to a meeting, make sure someone knows where you are and who you’re meeting with.

Don’t Neglect Home Security

When working from home, you’ll be aiming to cover a lot of safety measures, but the most important of them is home security. If the home itself isn’t safe, then the other safety measures won’t have as much significance.

Remember to:

• Purchase and install a home security system.

• Have a cell phone nearby and emergency contact information.

• Install quality doors and deadbolts on all exterior doors and use them.

• Have window treatments that hide what’s in your office so valuables can’t be seen.

• Install motion sensor lights that will alert you if anyone is wandering around the yard.

• Have identification numbers on important equipment and an updated list of your inventory.

• Make sure your foliage is trimmed so that the house can be seen, and no one can hide behind foliage.

• Use caution with people who are delivering items. Make sure they can identify themselves and state who they are.

Important Note: Review your homeowners insurance policy and have a rider to cover your home office. Most companies make you take out a rider for the home, and you want to be covered for whatever happens.

Lauren Slade is a Dallas-based writer and editor.