The safety of women in the workplace is of utmost importance for any organization. The female employees of any company should feel safe and secure in their workplace. It will enable them to focus completely on their work, affecting their participation in the workforce.
A 2021 research paper titled ‘Women, Violence and Work: Threat of Sexual Violence and Women’s Decision to Work’, by Nafisa Lohawala and Tanika Chakraborty, reports that:
“…a one per cent increase in crime against women in a district reduces the expected probability of working by 0.14 per cent on average, which translates into a withdrawal of roughly 75 women from the workforce for every additional sexual crime committed in a district.”
Hence, the fear of being attacked is deterring women from joining the Indian workforce. As a result, HRs are required to devise innovative solutions to empower women in the workplace and ensure their safety.
smHRt Roster Management by Pocket HRMS
Being the pioneers in empowering HRs with the right tools, Pocket HRMS is introducing smHRt Roster Management to enhance the Safety of Women. This set of ‘smHRt’ features is targeted towards enhancing the security of women in the workplace through advanced shift monitoring and timely notifications:
1. Shift Assignment Alerts
Pocket HRMS provides the option to automatically trigger an alert if a female employee is being assigned to an evening, late evening, or night shift. It allows the HR and managers to review and confirm the assignment of shift, improving the safety of the employee. Since Pocket HRMS shift management software remains extremely flexible, the workforce management team can easily swap or reassign the shifts to ensure the safety of their female workforce and help them avoid working odd hours.
2. Gender Ratio Alerts
You can also configure Pocket HRMS to generate an alert if the percentage of female employees assigned to a specific shift in a department falls below 5%. It is particularly useful during evening or night shifts, ensuring a balanced and safer work environment. By ensuring a good proportion of female employees in the workplace, HRs can increase the feeling of security among their female staff, especially during 24/7 shifts.
3. Customizable Gender Ratio Settings
Similarly, Pocket HRMS also allows the HR manager or administrator to define the minimum percentage of female employees that can be assigned to any shift. If this quota is not met, the system will not proceed with the shift allocation. Having such automated checks in place proves to be useful particularly during evening or night shifts, further enhancing the safety of the female employees.
4. Consecutive Shift Monitoring
Pocket HRMS intelligently monitors the shifts of female employees and can alert the HR manager if a female employee is scheduled for consecutive evening or night shifts without enough rest. It helps promote employee well-being in the workplace, while also ensuring adherence to safety standards. It also improves the confidence of the employee in your organization, improving their engagement with your company.
5. Minimum Rest Period Enforcement
Similarly, Pocket HRMS can also enforce mandatory rest periods between evening and night shifts for female employees to prevent fatigue and enhance safety. The rest period can be defined through the cloud portal providing further flexibility to the HR manager while improving the well-being of female employees. It enables the female staff to understand their value to the organization, resulting in a loyal workforce.
Conclusion
With such ‘smHRt features’, Pocket HRMS provides its users with advanced options to automate a few aspects related to the well-being of female staff, ensuring their safety and security. While the responsibility of women’s security in the workplace falls with the HR department, other employees can also help by lending a helping hand to female staff whenever required. Such initiatives will help you make your workplace better for everyone, further cementing your employer brand as an organization that values employee well-being over financial profits.
