Canadian Occupational Safety

www.thesafetymag.com/ca 15 — notably with regards to workplace safety. This means looking into whether employees have the right equipment, access to a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, etc. This also means providing workers with adapted ergonomic support. Not everyone is going back to the office, says Strand, and employers need to look into how does the office help workers at home. Ergonomics is also a huge concern for employees working on-site. "I am doing a lot right now with product safety," says Rourke. This includes things such as what standards companies need to incorporate into their production or how they consider ergonomics to make work safe, she says. This is no doubt a big focus for many safety professionals. 5. A bigger focus on leadership and communication "Every year," says Chenard, "one trend is leadership. We need to emphasise it — it's from the top and it needs to go all the way to the bottom," he says. "I think our workplace definition is going to change somewhat, because I think that the virtual workplace is definitely going to [remain] an issue in the first few months of 2021." Eldeen Pozniak, Pozniak Safety Associates Management needs to set expectations and actually follow through. Furthermore, this mentality is not just reserved for safety practitioners, says Chenard, as all leaders need to get out there and show that they care about safety. Another big trend is communication. "I find that, in the field of occupational health and safety, we need to do a lot of communication," says Chenard. And a lot of workers are actually interested in health and safety and should be, he says. With many employees working from home (and planning to work from home this year), communication between workers and between employers and workers has been somewhat frayed. "Face-to-face interactions play a key role in building engagement and trust, and losing those connections can affect the collaboration that is required to build a healthy and safe workplace," says Strand. Empathy will help build steps to elevate health and safety within an organization, he says. "I see that there might be some increased support and engagement within the workplace. This will refocus on employee engagement, [workplace] culture and making sure that individuals, groups and the organization have their say," says Pozniak. Another key concept for organizations is the idea of continuous improvement. "Even if [you] had a good year, don't sit on your laurels," says Chenard. 6. Maintaining effective safety training Safety professionals are looking into new ways to educate and train employees, despite disruptions brought about by the pandemic. "How can we change our communication and training to be effective in a time when we can't get close to people?" asks Rourke. A huge issue is figuring out how to train employees and how to maintain contact as well, which is a challenge in itself. "We have to maintain things; we can't just put things on hold forever," says Rourke. Online programs and digital learning have been a huge part of keeping training running. But part of communicating well with employees is also adapting the training to the worker. For example, some workers may not be inclined to do all of their training online or on a computer and may prefer an in-person approach if possible. Pozniak says training and education will be a continued focus in 2021, with companies notably looking into virtual platforms or strategies for continuous learning and development. "I think that micro learning is also going to have an mental health has been of colossal importance in 2020 and going into this year. Workers across all industries are suffering, with those in the health-care field being particularly susceptible to mental health struggles and burnout. The silver lining to this is that employees and employers have become much more open about mental health struggles. "We've been talking a lot more about depression and anxiety. Maybe it's helped reduce some stigmas," says Rourke. "I've been trying to be the calm in the storm … and trying to find ways to keep everybody safe," she says. The pandemic has been an opportunity to check in with people and learn more about them, says Rourke. Mental health is important, says Chenard, not just at work but at home, too. 4. Adapting to working from home in the long term "I think our workplace definition is going to change somewhat, because I think that the virtual workplace is definitely going to [remain] an issue in the first few months of 2021," says Pozniak. "I think a lot of us have adapted to the face-to-face conversations that we're having virtually." Indeed, if organizations see that this is something that workers want and that it is good for both the company and the individual, then there are going to be a number of people who will continue to work from home, she says. One new concern that stems from this, however, is how to adapt to working from home in the long term

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