Safety Is Number 1 Priority

A crucial part of growing up, and an aspect to life that I have recently been introduced more to, is the workplace. As a high school student, getting a job is on my mind, and over the past few weeks in Maker class, I have learned a lot that will keep me safe and aware for when I do enter the workplace. 

34 young workers are injured every day in BC, and 1 in 21 young men are injured on the job. Young workers are at the highest risk of getting injured on the job, because they are afraid to speak up when they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. To me, I can definitely see how this would be the case. Everyone is somewhat afraid of standing up someone who is older than them, it’s human nature. In the workplace, this is even more true because young workers feel like saying no and refusing to do work isn’t an option. They don’t have the confidence to act when they are put in an uncomfortable situation. However, this shouldn’t be the case, because everyone has the right to refuse unsafe work and the right to training. 

WorkSafeBC has a long list of rules in place regarding safety in all workplaces. In class, we looked at the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation that highlights all the logistics of what is and isn’t allowed in workplaces. To help us understand some of these rules we completed a worksheet where we searched through the regulation to answer questions regarding specific rules. This was a great little assignment because it helped me get a grasp of some of the types of things WorkSafeBC had set in place for safety, and to help me better understand some of the legal terminology and language.

Lastly we had a look at some of the hazards one may encounter in the workplace. There are so many of these hazards but to make it easier they are broken down in to 5 categories; Biological Hazards, Environmental Exposure, Exposure to Mineral and Chemical Hazards, Musculoskeletal Injuries, and Noise Hazards. Because there is so much information, our class divided in to 5 groups and each took on the role of researching their hazard category and creating a 1-slide Keynote about it. Logan, Lucas, Marshall and I chose Biological Hazards. There’s a lot to know but the main idea with biological hazards is that you should avoid any and all biological fluid unless you have had specific training to do otherwise. In our presentation we talked about how for the most part these hazards are unlikely to apply to most peoples workplaces but they are very important hazards to be aware of for those who are in a workplace that is affected by them.

Overall I learned more than I was expecting to in this unit and it really opened my eyes to what my rights are as an employee. Heading in to the future I will do my very best to retain and remember all of the knowledge I have learned throughout the past few weeks as it will most certainly help to keep me safe.