Employer Duty of Care — the fiduciary responsibility to maintain a safe work environment and reasonably protect employees — has gotten complicated. When focusing on the physical safety aspect of Duty of Care, there are two key factors influencing standards in today’s workplace. First, employers have a dispersed workforce. In addition to working in offices, employees are working remotely (either from home or abroad) and back to regular business travel. A Duty of Care grey area has emerged called bleisure, which is when an employee combines a work trip with a segment for personal leisure. Second, the threat landscape has expanded. There are more mass shootings, infectious diseases, civil unrest, weather-related emergencies and situations that bring risk to a workforce.
As companies rethink Duty of Care parameters, there are fundamental considerations:
Are policies clear about the shared responsibilities for managing risk and maintaining security and do they address different work environments?
Is your Emergency Action Plan updated?
How do you communicate with traveling employees and vice versa?
Are you tracking potentially disruptive events at key locations? How about at destinations for traveling executives?
Do you have tools and training in place that help cultivate a culture of safety throughout your organization?
The social contract between employers and their workers is always evolving. A safe workplace inspires a productive workforce. Insite can help upgrade organizational security. Click here to schedule a consultation.