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Stress is back under the spotlight this month with National Stress Awareness Day on Wednesday 5th November. At this time of the year stress levels typically rise, because although nature may be slowing down and encouraging us to rest and retreat, our modern lives and work schedules continue to demand constant activity and productivity.

Winter offers an invitation to turn inward and recuperate. When we override this seasonal rest cycle by forcing ourselves to race on without refuelling we can begin to experience burnout. A common symptom of this is depression.

7 TIPS TO TRANSFORM DEPRESSION THIS WINTER

1. Listen – Allow the wisdom of your body to communicate with you by noticing the physical signs and symptoms it gives you rather than overriding them. Be kind to yourself. It is okay to feel low.

2. Pause – Give yourself permission to press pause, de-stress and take time out to rest.

3. Lighten Your Load – Let go of unnecessary commitments. Clear some space in your calendar so that you can slow down, indulge in some personal reflection and get more sleep.

4. Go Within – Use creative mediums like poetry, art, song, dance and body movement to explore and process your emotions, especially the ones you’ve felt unable to express in the past.

5. Remove the Mask – Make a list or draw pictures of all the things you pretend to be in your life. What are you putting up with? What are your frustrations? Where do you feel tension? By expressing these it becomes easier to go behind the mask you wear and rediscover who you truly are underneath.

6. Get Outside – Make an effort to get outside during the day and increase your exposure to daylight. This will help to boost your mood and is especially important during the winter months when there are shorter daylight hours.

7. Uncover Your Passions Connect with your true interests to boost your sense of self-fulfilment and help overcome depression. Lacking inspiration? Remember some of the things you used to love to do as a child and reignite old hobbies or experiment by trying something new.

NB: If you think you may be suffering from prolonged stress, depression or SAD consult your GP for further advice and information.

An AED is a device that shocks a casualty to restore the normal pumping of the heart to restart the blood circulation. It works by interpreting the heartbeat and automatically sending an electric shock, but it will not deliver it unless it can detect the presence of a heart rhythm. There is no explicit legal requirement to provide defibrillators in the workplace, but the British Heart Foundation and the Resuscitation Council UK advocate their provision. Generally speaking, if your first aid needs assessment indicates that the likelihood of cardiac arrest in your workplace is high, you should provide a defibrillator.

8 Top Tips for Managing Defibrillator Use

1. Review your policies to ensure you have clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of personnel who oversee and use AEDs.
2. Ensure your employees know that there is an AED present, where it is and what it is for.
3. An AED can be used safely and effectively without previous training. However, training should be provided to improve the time to shock delivery and correct pad placement and to demonstrate compliance with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).
4. In terms of location, the AED is best positioned in public areas. If there is a significant risk of theft or vandalism, any measures you put into place must be accompanied by reliable arrangements to minimise the delay in obtaining access when needed.
5. Whenever the AED is deployed, ensure you undertake a detailed investigation and review as part of the company’s health and safety management system.
6. Ensure that the device, as with all other first aid equipment you provide, is properly maintained under PUWER. Failure to maintain an AED unit and its disposable parts, such as batteries and pads, can result in the equipment malfunctioning at the critical moment of deployment.
7. The use of an AED, especially in the case of a fatality, can result in the operator suffering psychological distress and you should consider implementing post-incident counselling.
8. If you intend to use the equipment on non-employees, check your insurance company will indemnify you.

A person who has had a cardiac arrest will die if they don’t receive emergency treatment. Seconds count, and using a defibrillator will increase their chance of survival.

Contact us if you wish to purchase a defibrillator and update company procedures.

With the shortest day of the year coming up, we have issued a number of tips to ensure people stay safe over the festive period.

With winter quickly approaching we are urging people to take a number of measures to protect themselves and their properties during the darker nights.

The aim is to cut crimes which traditionally rise when the clocks go back. While crime has been reducing in recent years, burglary, robbery and vehicle crime can increase with the darker nights.

Our tips are:

* Most burglars are opportunists – Make sure you use a light timer switch to make it look like you’re at home

* One in five burglaries take place through unsecure windows and doors, so keep them locked – don’t let them in!

* Do not leave your house or car keys in a visible and easy to reach place in your house

* Be careful not to advertise your movements when visiting public places or using social media sites like Facebook

* When out and about keep expensive items out of sight and close to you at all times

* Consider property marking your expensive and valuable items

* Make sure people know your whereabouts

* Do not leave property on display in your car

* Consider personal safety when travelling at night, avoid dark short cuts and always let someone know where you are going

* Register your valuables for free on the National Property Database  www.immobilise.com

* Plan journeys in advance and remember to book a licensed taxi before heading out for the night.

With the darkest nights upon us, thieves may take advantage which could increase the risk of burglaries and thefts. We are urging people to do as much as they can to ensure they are not targeted by thieves and by following a few common sense safety tips they may save themselves and their families a lot of money and distress.

Employers and employees have duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 to ensure that workplace risks are controlled so that people do not slip or trip.

12 Tips for Managing Slips and Trips in your Workplace

1. Carry out a risk assessment of slip and trip risks in consultation with employees. This will enable you to highlight any potential hot spots within the organisation. Consider the design and layout of work areas, activities carried out in the work area and procedures for carrying out specific tasks. Don’t forget to include outside areas, including car parks, entrances, etc.
2. Ensure safe systems of work are in place which take into account slips and trips. Workers and management should receive training on understanding the risks of slips and trips and know how to prevent them.
3. Encourage the reporting of accidents and near misses by staff to help identify slip and trip black spots. Give feedback on actions taken.
4. Arrange for regular workplace inspections and pay particular attention to floors, stairs, tasks, lighting, general housekeeping and cleaning methods, personal protective equipment and variations in conditions at different times of the day.
5. Keep work areas clean and tidy, with floors and access routes clear of obstacles or obstructions. Encourage a ‘see it, sort it’ mentality amongst staff.
6. Ensure rubbish is regularly removed to a designated area outside the building.
7. Provide good lighting levels, without shadows or glare, particularly on stairways.
8. Ensure flooring is level and is checked regularly for damage. Loose carpets or mats should be removed or affixed. Changes of gradient should be highlighted and slippery surfaces should be treated with non-slip coating.
9. Provide handrails to all stairways and ensure stair nosings are colour-contrasted to prevent slips.
10. Staff should be advised to clean up spillages immediately. Make sure signs are used when floors are wet or cleaning is taking place.
11. Cables should not trail across walkways. Cable ties, walkover mats and cable managers should be provided.
12. Workers should wear footwear which has been selected through risk assessment and with regard to its slip-resistant properties.

Managing the risks of slips and trips will create a safer workplace. Take action now to ensure the safety of your workforce and reduce criminal and civil litigation costs.

Contact us if you require information.

Poor seating can negatively affect physical and emotional wellbeing, work performance and productivity. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has estimated that back pain costs UK employers up to £625 million per year. Continuous sitting on poor seating cannot be maintained for the whole of one’s working life. So what makes a good office chair and how should it be selected?

7 Tips for Selecting the Correct Chair

1. The seat needs to be adjustable so that both feet can rest comfortably on the floor. The seat pan should stop the pelvis from tilting away and support physiologically the ‘right’ sitting. The seat should permit both active and dynamic sitting, i.e. between a forward, upright and laid-back posture.
2. The backrest should be high enough to reach at least the shoulder blades. There should be a gap between the back and the seat pan for the buttocks. Some backrests have a tilting mechanism which adjusts with the worker. This can provide comfort in a wide range of working positions.
3. Armrests: whilst not essential, they can provide comfort, as they can take the weight of 8-10kg, i.e. the arms, which would otherwise simply hang on the shoulder girdle, causing fatigue. Armrests should be set back from the front edge of the seat or be adjustable to allow the chair to fit under the desk.
4. Chairs should be mobile, i.e. have castors, to provide flexibility where workers need to move from one location to another. Ensure the correct type of castor is selected, e.g. for hard floors or carpeted areas.
5. Adjustments may include seat height, backrest height and tilt. Adjustment controls should be easy to use from a sitting position.
6. Weight: no one weighing more than 16 stone should use a gas-lift chair, unless it is one which has been specially designed to accommodate larger persons.
7. Upholstery: the seat, backrest and armrests should be well padded to ensure user comfort and reduce the likelihood of damage. Upholstery should meet BS 7176:2007 in respect of resistance to ignition.

Follow these tips and you will be able to demonstrate that you have taken steps to avoid posture-related problems and injuries and will be able to defend any claims that arise.

If your staff require an assessment of their workstation, please contact us.