Teen safety : tips for supervisors

              Teen Safety:Tips for Supervisors
A publication by Oklahoma Department of Labor partners
Teen Safety Starts With Good Supervision
While many employers go through a routine orien­tation, the job of providing on-the-job safety training often falls to the supervisor. If it’s your job to provide teens with safety training and supervision, you need to know what your responsibilities are and how to ef­fectively communicate with your workers, especially teens.
Teenagers often start jobs with learn and their physical characteristics. Tailor the train­ing your supervisors provide to the teenage worker. Al­ways provide “hands on” training. It helps them learn not only the task, but the safety requirements of the task.
Make the training fun! Do it in periodic short sessions, rather than one long class. Include activities and oppor­tunities for the teens to interact. Encourage them to ask
questions during the training and
little or no education about work-whenever they are unsure about
place safety and health. No matter
how to do a job safely.
what your industry, you need to
One of the biggest complaints
make young workers aware of
among workers is poor communi-
some important general informa­cation
in the workplace. Success
tion: 1) all jobs have hazards, 2) on-
depends on relating well to other
the-job injuries can be prevented,
people no matter what your posi­3)
there are laws to protect teen
tion. This skill never goes away.
workers, 4) teens need to know the
This is true for entry-level teenage
laws and speak up about their con­cerns.
You need to provide specific training for all new employees about the hazards and safety procedures at your workplace. Be sure to cover how to report any hazards they find, or how to report an injury or illness if they do become hurt at work. Supervisors also need to make sure teens know what to do in the event of an emergency.
Why bother going through an orientation process especially with young workers who may leave after a short period of time? Many reasons. The results of a recent study showed that teens who said they “loved their jobs” were most likely to agree with the state­ment, “I received a thorough orientation when I first joined the company.” Research also shows that em­ployees who love their jobs provide better customer service and perform better, and are less likely to get hurt.
Teens differ from adults in maturity, the way they workers as well as those at the top
of their organization. Work to en­sure open communication between yourself and the em­ployees you supervise. Encourage them to ask ques­tions, and don’t rush to judgement about things they say. Be open to new ideas and always provide positive feed back. Make any criticisms constructive, giving the worker information they can use to improve their performance. Emphasize that doing a job right means doing it safely.
You may have to spend more time working side by side with a teen worker than you might with someone more experienced. Teens have a greater risk for injury and need more supervision.
Don’t assume teen workers know everything. While something may seem like common sense to you, it may not be to someone with less experience.
Knowing how teens differ from adults in their attitudes and perceptions will allow you to create an atmosphere that will motivate all employees to higher levels of perfor-
See Good Supervision, page 2
What you should know about Teen Safety:
Page 1 – Teen Safety Starts With Good Supervision ... the impact of supervsion
Page 2 – Seven Tips for Supervisors ... guidelines for ensuring teen safety
Page 3 – Resources for Teen Safety ... Federal and state agency contact info Page 3 – Understanding Child Labor Laws ... prohibited occupations for teens