Unfortunately, the downside of this is that lone workers are more at risk. If something were to happen to them it’s possible that no one would know. This can turn a difficult situation into a dangerous one and may even cause litigation issues for the business.
The key is to assess the risk and develop a lone worker safety program, this will ensure your workers are protected and you maximize the benefits of lone workers.
Lone Worker Safety First
Before you can consider the benefits of lone workers you need to create the contact point. T’s best to invest in high-quality duress alarms. These will monitor the worker for you and, if any problem is encountered, will immediately notify you.
Some of the alarms will insist they check in on a regular basis, this process is automated but triggers a check if the process isn’t completed.
Productivity
One of the biggest benefits of lone workers with safety systems in place is that the lone worker feels confident committing to the job in hand. This is largely thanks to the development of technology that ensures they are safe and monitored.
The plus side of this safety net is the lone workers tend to be more productive. After all, if they are somewhere by themselves there is no distraction. This ensures that they focus on the task in hand.
Safety
When you have a group of workers it’s easy for one or two to egg the others into doing something they shouldn’t, or cutting corners. The result is the work environment becomes more dangerous.
This isn’t an issue with lone workers who are focused on the job that needs doing. The improved focus ensures the worker pays attention to safety issues and is protected if anything goes wrong.
Flexibility
As the COVID-19 pandemic has taught many businesses, sometimes people need to work from home. Having a lone worker policy gives more flexibility to your employees, including the ability to work in remote places.
This increase in flexibility makes working for your business more appealing. In short, better flexibility will help you to attract the best talent available. That’s a definite bonus for any business.
Remote working also provides opportunities to expand the business at minimal cost, that’s an unexpected but welcome side-effect of having a lone worker safety program.
Advanced Planning
Having lone workers and a valid policy can make it easier to plan jobs, especially those that are remote and take time to get to. The lone worker can have their time allocated according to jobs and your business can benefit from advance planning which will minimize your costs and other overheads.
Lone workers are becoming increasingly important in all lines of business, perhaps it’s time you invested in a lone worker safety program and moved your business to the next level.