This June is the 25th anniversary of National Safety Month, an annual observance organized by the National Safety Council (NSC) to stress the importance of safety in and outside of the workplace. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness about the value of safety at your facility!
This is what is planned for this year’s event:
Week 1, Prevent Incidents Before They Start: The focus is on the importance of identifying risks and taking proactive safety measures to reduce exposure and adverse outcomes to create a safe workplace. Topics include hazard communication, electrical safety, ergonomics, and chemical management.
Week 2, Address Ongoing COVID-19 Safety Concerns: Topics are directed at the important role employers play in the return to physical workspaces, including building trust around vaccines, recognizing the importance of employee mental health, and trends for the future world of work.
Week 3, It’s Vital to Feel Safe on the Job: Emphasis is on the importance of being able to be one’s self at work, without fear of retaliation, for an inclusive safety culture. Topics include the intersection of the pandemic and psychological safety, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
Week 4, Advance Your Safety Journey: The theme is that safety is all about continuous improvement. Information is provided on safety leadership, supercharging safety training, sharpening soft skills to promote a safety career and women in safety leadership.
You can sign up on the NSC website to get free materials to promote this event at your workplace. There are great resources available for each week’s theme! For next week’s topic on COVID-19 safety concerns, the NRC has provided a lot of valuable employee return to work resources including the NSC’s SAFER Safe Actions For Employee Returns (version 3.1 issued on May 17, 2021). This document focuses on the return of an increasing number of workers to the traditional work environment including issues related to the future of work, and what organizations may have to consider if they maintain flexible or hybrid workplaces.
To celebrate National Safety Month, Safety Partners will be sharing a weekly safety tip each Friday to our YouTube channel for the month of June! Learn a new tip each week from EHS experts, by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
For additional information on National Safety Month, or for ideas about how to promote this event at your workplace, please email [email protected].
This blog was written by Beth Graham, our Associate Director of Quality, Research, and Training who has been with Safety Partners Inc. for the last 11 years.