Your home office has most likely been somewhere you have spent many hours in 2020, and that might not be changing any time soon. Or perhaps you could always work from home, and working in a home office is one of the joys that you have for working from home.
However, home offices can get very messy. Stray pieces of paper and a range of electrical equipment can be a risk.
Many people now also light candles, incense sticks, and more in their office. This is even more of a risk, a candle left burning or falling ash can set loose papers on fire.
Each year many home offices experience a fire of some sort. Some of these fires have drastic consequences.
Here are some ways that you can keep your home office safe.
Wires
If you have many wires wrapped up around extension cables and hanging from your electrical equipment, this can be one of the most significant hazards. Take some time to untangle each of your wires, label the plugs correctly, and put them back in good order. You can also use cable ties and cable trunking to keep this even neater.
Loose wires and wires that have been damaged and have parts sticking out of one of the most significant hazards within a home office.
An actionable tip here is to get a cord containing box, or a more practical and safe code maintenance system.
This is also one of the number one reasons that you should have fire sprinkler inspections in your home offices and workspace.
Electricals
We have spoken about wire management, but you also need to take an inventory of your electrical items. Older electrical items are more likely to have an electrical fault.
Go through everything that you use, and if it is more than a few years old, it should more likely be replaced.
It is also important that you turn everything off completely each evening, and certainly if you won’t be going to the office for a few days.
Surfaces
If you have piles of paper on your desk, a rug that has a turned up corner, or uneven laminate flooring, then those are accidents waiting to happen. Imagine if you were carrying a coffee to your office and tripped on the corner of that rug. You might be heading for a coffee-covered keyboard and a fall.
The same goes for balancing a glass of water next to a pile of papers.
Spillage is the type of accident no one wants and can be a small but costly mistake to make. Power cables left to sprawl across the surfaces can also be a significant issue for many, so try to keep them tucked away and safe.
Tripping over, falling items, and fires are some of the most common and avoidable (in most cases) accidents that people come across in their home office. The impact is far-reaching too. Damage to you, your property, and the inability to work on projects that have deadlines looming can be disastrous.
(Cover Image Source: Unsplash)