Dozens of hours every year, if not more, are spent discussing safety in the workplace at many companies. Employees who work for companies that spend this amount of time discussing safety should do more with that knowledge than just keep it to themselves and use it at work. The safety information you learn on the job should be taken home to your family.

The most obvious reason you should take the safety information you learn at work home is to pass it on to your family. If your company spends the time to educate you about some safety concern that applies to home, you should also pass it on to your family. You do not know what you do not know. The same goes for your family. Take the time to educate your family, so they are able to recognize hazards and protect themselves from harm.

Another reason you should apply the safety knowledge you gain at work when you are at home is to keep everyone healthy. Keeping yourself healthy allows you to continue to work and earn money for your family. Every person plays a role at work, and even when someone gets injured off the job, it hurts the company. Every company wants their workers to be safe off the job so they can return to work and fulfill their role in the workplace.

Safety at Home Self Check

There are similar safety concerns at almost every home. Below is a small basic checklist to gauge whether you are addressing some of the larger safety issues in your home.
• Are there working smoke alarms in the house? Are they in the proper locations?
• Are chemicals and other harmful substances locked up to protect small children and pets?
• Do you and other family members wear proper PPE when doing yard work such as weed trimming or while using a chainsaw?
• If you have a pool, does it have a proper fence and locking gate?

If you answered “no” to some of these questions, then you need to ask yourself why are these safety concerns not addressed in my house. Have you educated your family members on these hazards? How would it affect you and your family if something happened to a young child in your home because a hazard was not addressed? Take safety in the home seriously and protect your loved ones.