Rules within the workplace are often set to keep all staff safe and happy. Without rules, things can easily go wrong, and when they’re at work, you do bear some responsibility for them. So here are some tips for setting rules within the workplace.
The Dress Code
With any business, there will likely be a certain dress code that employees will need to stick to in order to represent the business in the correct manner. This will be different for every organization, and some places may have a uniform, where others may be more casual. It’s important to enforce this rule as part of your workplace policy and that everyone is dressing appropriately within the workplace. Sometimes a reminder may need to be sent out in regards to what is considered work attire and what isn’t. Sometimes this can get lost in translation, and some may simply forget about what’s considered acceptable and what isn’t.
Using Work Equipment With Care
When it comes to work equipment, staff should remember that the things they are using at work have been paid for by the company. And because of that, if any severe damage is caused to this equipment that wasn’t done by accident who was done carelessly, it should be the responsibility of the staff member to fix. An example of this could be a work phone or laptop. Now many things will likely to be covered under your insurance, but sometimes people are clumsy, and a device may be broken or damaged that isn’t covered within the insurance. It should then be at the discretion of the employer as to whether they take payment from the staff member. To put these precautions in place, it’s worth having an agreement that staff sign if they want their own work laptop or phone.
Smoking Habits
Smoking is something that probably a fair few of your staff do, but it can be difficult on how to set rules when it comes to taking cigarette breaks. For those who don’t smoke, they will spend less time away from their desks, whereas those who smoke may go out for several smoking breaks during the day. For an active job as a sales clerk in a shop, this isn’t ideal as there would be no one on the floor to deal with customers. So it might be worth it to seek employer smoking policy advice sites that can give you some guidance on how to handle it. It might be that the individual only gets a certain number of breaks per day, and this is policed by their manager. As it’s not a medical condition, staff members shouldn’t be taking multiple breaks a day to smoke.
Using The Internet
The internet is another area of the business where the staff is representing the business, and so there needs to be some wariness when they are browsing the internet. Going onto personal sites is often expected when there’s downtime or when they need a break from work for ten minutes. However, staff members should respect that they are working on computers that are using the company’s internet and servers. Therefore, any sites that aren’t well protected could be dangerous in terms of viruses and potential scams they could have. It may be worth having some training in place to show staff how to use the internet safely and especially when they need to make payments or process details using payment details of the company.
Having A Late Policy
Keeping track of your staff’s whereabouts can sometimes prove quite difficult. However, it’s important that this is kept on top of so no one is taking advantage of it and arriving late or leaving early before they’re due to finish. There may be an opportunity to keep a log with managers of any staff members that they notice who turn up late on multiple occasions. Any fob or key card systems that staff use to get in and out of the building can also give you an idea of who is arriving and leaving on time and who isn’t. Having this information might be helpful if there are situations where someone isn’t performing well, and this might be the cause of their lack of work.
Setting rules within the workplace is important, and without them, staff can end up taking advantage. There needs to be a certain amount of respect given and received between the employee and the employer, so enforce rules that need to be put in place and ensure they stick to them.
- This post was written by an outside source – Please see disclosure policy
