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Projecting the right image: What does your office say about you?

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office space

Your office is the environment that will make or break you for your working productivity. That is regardless of whether your office is meant to be open for the general public, or if it is solely for internal use. The projected image for an office can say a lot. Many of the world’s top organisations have realized this and have put it to good use. Others who have failed to recognize this, struggle to understand how something as simple as an office can hold back their organization. We share some considerations that businesses need to keep in mind with the development of their office.

The office will make a good impression with clients.

If you are required to do client facing at your office, you need to have an office that will impress the clients that you are welcoming in. This is from the location to the doorways, security, staff mannerisms and the interior design aesthetics of the office. In short, the office needs to also sell your credibility to those that you will be selling to. Regardless of your budget size, the office space that you present must offer its unique wow factor. Whether that is from the office in your own home or at the top of a skyscraper in the central business district.

The attention to detail with the office needs to be taken into account. Also, the office theme that is being projected to the client or visitor will reflect the image that they have of you. Does your business win awards? And if so, where are they being displayed? Do you work with any blue chip organisations? And if so, can we see examples in any publications? Does your business have an impressive waiting area? Is the interior décor such as desks and office chairs modern and convey the professional image you’re intending to achieve?

If you have employees, is your office employee friendly?

One of the strongest influential factors with having a good office is the employee friendliness of the office. The more friendly it is to employees, the more productive the employees will be and it will yield more revenue and profits for your business. Below are a few considerations for employees.

The office is easy to commute to and from their home

Employees are with you for the sole purpose of earning an income and trading their time and expertise to do so. If your office is not easy to commute to by public or private transportation, this may see the employees being subject to lateness, tiredness and additional stress.

Windows and airflow

It is an underestimated thing, but people value light and good airflow through area that they are working in. Many people will be working indoors. Create a brighter office space with enhanced natural lighting options such as Skylights and Velux windows, and ensure the work space offers a good airflow.

Good workspaces that enhance their productivity

This is critical to the success of your company. Both you and your employees generally want to do well. And they will if they are given the working area that they can thrive in.

Provide break out spaces for lunch and relaxation

You must be able to offer your employees the flexibility with bringing their home lunches. This means the office should have an area where employees can eat away from their desk and to heat their food with a microwave. Ideally, if you can provide a cafeteria, it would be ideal.

Leverage the systems, software and hardware that will enhance productivity

All businesses need to have a ‘get with the times’ mentality. The better the system that they use across the organisation, the better the organisation can function that will boost productivity and profits for the business. For example, companies should encourage the use of:

· Mobile friendly and smart technology

· The development or integration of in-house or third party applications

· The implementation of cutting edge software

· The investment of cutting edge hardware, such as Apple Mac computers

· The investment in collaboration and telephony software.

Whether we like it or not, the image of the office will reflect onto the business’ image. Whether it is in your daily workflow or if you choose to have visitors come around. Seek inspiration from organisations who have setup their offices in a way that spurs productivity for the business.

Seeking workers compensation: factors to consider

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If you are injured at work, you may be able to receive compensation from WorkSafe. However, there are a number of factors to consider before submitting a claim. It is important to discuss these important considerations with a compensation lawyer, prior to completing a claim for compensation.

claim for work safety and injury lawyers

It is important to first consider the aims and purposes of workers’ compensation and whether these align with your specific intentions. Importantly, workers compensation is separate to an option of pursuing common law damages against an employer. Instead, the aim of the workers compensation scheme is to

● provide injured workers with financial support;

● provide injured workers with medical benefits and other forms of support;

● to achieve an early, safe and appropriate return to work for the injured employee.

1. Type of claim

It is important to first consider the type of claim you seek to make. The various work related injury claims include;

● Permanent impairment claims

● Psychological injury claims

● Work break and journey claims

The type of injury that you have and the claim that you seek to make, will have a significant impact on the considerations made prior to completing a workers compensation claim. For example, if you seek to make a claim for a permanent inability to resume your previous field of work, your specific workers compensation arrangements will not include considerations relating to your effective and early return to work.

2. Certificate of Capacity

The certificate of capacity is used by WorkSafe to help understand your capacity for work and the payments you are entitled to. Obtaining a Certificate of Capacity is an important factor to consider when seeking workers compensation, as it will be used to develop an injury management plan with you and your employer, and facilitate your recovery at work should you be able to return. It is important to ensure that your Certificate of Capacity is an accurate reflection by your nominated treating doctor of your capacity to complete some or all pre-injury duties, or whether you do not have the capacity to undertake employment in any form. The Certificate will dictate the number of hours and days per week you have the capacity to undertake employment, and if the doctor certifies that you do not have a current capacity for employment, will include an estimate of the time until you will regain working capacity.

3. Compensation: Loss of wages and expenses

Before applying for workers compensation, it is important to consider exactly what compensation you may be eligible to receive. This may include compensation for loss of wages, reasonable medical bills, travel expenses and other related expenses. Where you are required by your employer or a medical practitioner to travel from your home to a medical appointment or rehabilitation provider, you may be eligible to claim for the travel expenses incurred.

It is important to be aware of these potential avenues of compensation prior to applying for workers compensation, in order to ensure that you keep all relevant documents and receipts from the outset. A consultation with a lawyer can be useful in determining these possible areas of compensation, depending on your specific case.

4. Weekly Compensation

If you are unable to perform your normal job, an important factor to consider is applying for weekly compensation payments. These compensation payments are based on the injured worker’s pre-injury weekly earnings. It is important to consider when applying for weekly compensation, that the formula for calculating the compensation will change over time and will be affected by how long you have been in receipt of compensation.

5. Retaining your pre-injury position

It is important to consider, in the cases of temporary injury, whether you seek to retain your pre-injury position once you are deemed capable of returning to work. Under the law, your employer must retain your pre-injury position for one year from the day you are entitled to receive weekly compensation payments.

These factors are important to take into consideration before seeking workers compensation. Seeking advice from a compensation lawyer can help ensure you understand each step of the process involved in a workers compensation claim.

Bio: Laura Costello is in her third year of a Bachelor of Law/International Relations at Latrobe University. She is passionate about the law, the power of social media, and the ability to translate her knowledge of both common and complex legal topics to readers across a variety of mediums, in a way that is easy to understand.

First Aid in the Office – What Every Start up needs to know

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In most start-up offices, it’s wonderfully rare that anyone should need to use the first aid kit, and for the most part it’s not something that staff needs to think about on a regular basis.

Office emergencies are relatively rare and as such it can be very tempting to forget about making a priority of office safety and taking the appropriate health and safety measures. Even though people in start-ups tend to be young and carefree – first aid is a necessity.

As with anything in life, however, disaster always seems to strike when we’re least prepared, and that’s why the law states that it’s absolutely essential to keep your kit well stocked and ready, as well as ensuring that you and all other employees are well versed in the first aid workplace policies in your area.

We’ve put together a few things you need to know about first aid in the office in order to help you gather all the supplies you need to deal quickly and efficiently with an emergency situation:

Appoint a Health and Safety Officer

If you haven’t done this already, it’s vital that you do; appointing someone in this capacity to ensure that the kit is properly stocked at all times and that everyone is apprised of the appropriate policies and procedures will go a long way toward not only obeying the law but avoiding disaster should a real emergency occur.

Assess the Situation

Not every office has the same needs as far as their first aid kit, particularly as not every office has the same level of staffing, risk and/or activity; perform a comprehensive risk assessment to ascertain the supplies you should keep on hand in order to address an emergency; be intelligent and remember it’s better to be slightly over prepared then left floundering in a bad situation.

Leave Out Potential Allergens

Depending on how many office staff you have, there are a wide variety of potential allergens in the average kit, from ointment and painkillers to other over-the-counter meds; if someone in the office requires any of these items for health reasons, they should be able to supply them on their own, while keeping them away from others who may be allergic.

Post Your Medical Emergency Plan

Writing and posting your formal emergency plan is a must in any office; information should be posted in a position where it is readily available when required and all employees should be apprised of both its location and contents.

The plan should include the address and phone number of the office, as well as the location of the first aid kits and any staff members who are specially trained to administer assistance; also include any emergency numbers as well as directions to and contact information for the medical services facilities closest to your location.

Keeping employees informed is a vital part of dealing with an emergency quickly and efficiently.

Buy Prepackaged

There are a variety of companies who sell prepackaged first aid kits and purchasing one of these handy supplies has a few advantages; first of all, as experts in emergency supplies, they’ll know firsthand the items a company such as yours may require; these kits are also quite conspicuously marked and recognizable to employees, and the items inside are generally of sound quality.

So regardless of how unlikely an office emergency seems at your place of work, always be well stocked and prepared for a first aid emergency; keeping all staff well informed and ready will go a long way toward dealing with a crisis in the most safe and effective way.