EMPLOYEE/OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

1. EMPLOYEE/OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

2. Workers spend a great deal of their time in industrial settings. In many industries, workers are exposed to various types of health hazards. • Unless the working conditions-lighting, ventilation, cleanliness, temperature, space, etc. are proper workers cannot concentrate on work. They are unable to work hard continuously for long time. As a result productivity will be low. • In addition, ill health will lead to absenteeism from work.

3. Employee health and safety Employee safety • Deal with safety hazards aspects of work environment that have the potential of causing immediate and sometimes violent harm or even death • Examples of safety hazards include: • poorly maintained equipment • Unsafe machinery • Exposure to hazardous chemical

4. Employee safety (cont..) • Potential injuries include loss of hearing, eyesight, body parts, cuts , burns, bruises, electrical shock

5. Employees health • Employee health deals with health hazards – aspects of work environment that slowly and cumulatively (often irreversible) lead to deterioration of health • The person may develop chronic or life threatening illness or become permanently disabled

6. Employees health (cont..) • Typical causes are physical and biological hazards, toxic and carcinogen dust and chemical, stressful work conditions; the can cause cancer, heavy metal and other poisoning respiratory disease, cyclonical disorders like depression

7. Examples of safety accidents in the world • 1984 – India – worst accident in history - poisonous gas leak from a storage tank at a Union Carbide plant killing 3000 both employees and people living near the plant another 300,000 people were injured • Accident was as a result of operating error, design flaws, maintenance failure and training deficiencies

8. Causes of work related accidents and illness • The major causes of occupational accident are and illnesses: • Tasks • Working conditions • Nature of employees • Economic conditions • Management goals • government

9. Task related • The task itself can be a health hazard – e.g. coal mining – breathing coal dust • lift of heavy equipment – physical injuries • Working as an X-ray technician - cancer from radiation • Work using of dangerous chemical

10. Working conditions • Poorly designed and inadequately repaired machines • Lack of protective equipment • Dangerous chemical or gases in the work environment • Excessive working hours leading to fatigue • Noise • Lack of proper lighting • Boredom

11. Nature of employees • Accident prone employees – accident repeaters • Employees who are under 30 years of age • Lack of psychomotor and perceptual skills • Impulsive employees • Employees who are easily bored • Employees attitude towards healthy and safety

12. Economic factors • Unemployment and need for economical survival – can make workers work in mines even when the risk is 50% likely death and injury • The cost of prevention programmes for some industries may be very prohibitive

13. Management goals • Management being more interested in profitability than the well being of employees • They give better compensation for workers exposing themselves to health and safety hazards – Japan case of stock ownership and promotions

14. government • Government legislation • Implementation and follow up systems of the legislation

15. Responsibilities of the employer • Provide a working environment that is free from recognized hazards that are casing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees and comply with standards, rules, and regulations

16. Responsibilities of the employer ( cont..) • Examine works place conditions to ensure they conform with applicable standards • Ensure that employees have and use safety tools and equipment ( including appropriate personal protective equipment) and that such equipment is properly maintained

17. Responsibilities of the employer ( cont..) • Informing all persons employed of any risks from new technologies; and imminent danger; • Ensuring that every person employed participates in the application and review of safety and health measures.

18. Responsibilities of the employer ( cont..) • the provision and maintenance of plant and systems and procedures of work that are safe and without risks to health; • Arrangements for ensuring safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;

19. Responsibilities of the employer ( cont..) • Provision information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the safety and health at work of every person employed

20. Responsibilities of the employer ( cont..) • Employ color codes, posters, labels , or signs in several languages to warn employees of potential hazards • Establish or update operating procedures and communicate them so that employees follow safety and health requirements • Provide medical examinations for trades required by law

21. Responsibilities of the employer ( cont..) • Refrain form discriminating employees who properly exercise their rights in health and safety • Safety training - should be part of the orientation programme and at different points during the employees career – voluntary training or compulsory training which is required by government regulations

22. Responsibilities of the employer ( cont..) • Inspection and research – inspect workplace with the goal of reducing accidents and illness, carry out accident research

23. Rights and duties of the employee • Employees have aright to seek safe workplace without fear of punishment including complaining to an employer, union or labour ministry, or any other relevant government agency about job safety and health hazards

24. Rights and duties of the employee ( cont…) • ensure his own safety and health and that of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at the workplace; • co-operate with his employer in the discharge of any duty or requirement imposed on the employer • at all times wear or use any protective equipment or clothing provided by the employer

25. Rights and duties of the employee ( cont…) • report to the supervisor, any situation which would present a hazard • report to his supervisor any accident or injury that arises in the course of or in connection with his work;

26. Rights and duties of the employee (cont..) • Participating on workplace safety and health committees or in union activities concerning job safety and health • Review copies of appropriate workplace standards, rules and regulations, and requirements that the employer should have available in the workplace

27. Organizational responses to health and safety - approaches • Prevention and design • Inspection and research • Training and motivation • Selection • Incentive systems • Safety rules • Wellness programmes

28. Safety design and preventive approaches • Install protective guards for machines and equipment • Colour code warnings in dangerous areas • Standard safety colour – e.g.. Red for warning

29. Inspection and research • Inspect the workplace with the goal of reducing accidents and illnesses • The inspection would focus on: • Whether safety rules are being observed • Whether the safety guards and protective equipments are being used • Whether there are potential hazards in the work place that safety redesign could improve • Whether there are potential occupational hazards

30. Inspection and research (cont…) • At regular interval during the work year, safety specialist would carry out accident research: a systematic evaluation of evidence concerning accidents and health hazards • Data could be gathered from both external and internal sources • Use safety and health journal which point out recent findings and stimulate the safety specialist to look for hazardous conditions in the work place

31. Safety training and motivation • Safety training • As part of employee orientation programme • At different points during the employees career • Training is usually voluntary but some is required by government agencies

32. selection • Employers strive to employ less of “accident- prone” people • These are people who inadvertently hurt themselves or destroy something at work. • Is it possible to predict accident proneness during selection?

33. Selection (cont..) • Studies have showed three general findings: • Older employees are safer than younger ones ( regardless of job tenure) • Physical characteristic, such as hearing and vision are related to accident rates hen they are critical aspects of a job • Record of accidents or driving citations doe predict similarity activities in the future

34. Selection (cont..) • Other test could include drug use, honesty, customer orientation, respect and responsive to authority – all these are said to make “safe employee” More research needs to be done in this area

35. Incentive systems • Research shows that incentives can change employees attitudes • Use of safety contests where company units compete with one another for cash or prizes • Other contests are set up so that each unit competes with its own safety records • A lower number of accidents is awarded with some incentives

36. Incentive system (cont..) • The disadvantage of this is that if award is substantial, failure to report accidents is a possibility

37. Safety rules • Most companies publish employees handbook with formal rules and regulations that stipulates what employees can and cannot do in the workplace • The most effective employees safety handbook should not be too general but should have carefully described steps to be taken on the job to ensure maximum safety

38. Safety rules (cont..) • For each step, potential dangers are identified to alert the worker • In addition to specificity in the rules, it is also critical to get workers to read and comprehend safety handbook, some companies require that employees pass a test about safety related issues before they begin work

39. Safety rules (cont..) • These rules must be enforced for safety to be effective – there are numerous cases where workers ignored a safety rule and are injured, or where supervisors order the workers to ignore safety rules • Consistence enforcement of safety rules with disciplinary actions sends a message to employees that the company takes safety seriously and also reduces injuries

40. Preventive health programmes: a wellness approach • Health is a “state of physical, mental, and social well-being” – meaning it included the body, the body, and social patterns • So what can harm an employees health? • Disease, accident, and stress • Managers now realize they must be concerned about the general health of employees including psychological well-being

41. Preventive health programmes: a wellness approach (cont..) • An otherwise competent employee who is depressed and has low self esteem is as nonproductive as one who is injured and hospitalizeda preventive and wellness approach ends up being cheaper than otherwise (prevention is better than cure)

42. Preventive health programmes: a wellness approach (cont..) • Preventive and wellness approaches encourage employees to make lifestyle changes now through better nutrition, regular exercises programmes, abstinence from smoking and alcohol. Stress counseling, HIV/Aids prevention and support and annual physical examination

43. Preventive health programmes: a wellness approach (cont..) Success factors: • Support and direction from CEO • Wellness as a stated priority in the company’s policy statement • Inclusion of family members as well as the employee • Accessibility of the programme to the who family

44. Preventive health programmes: a wellness approach (cont..) • Employee input into the programme • Period in-house evaluation of the programme • Ongoing communication of the programme goals and components • Staffing with qualified health care specialist

45. Health and safety issues of the 21st century • Job related Stress • Violence in the work place • Indoor environmental quality • HIV/AIDS and the workplace • Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) • Smoking in the workplace • Drugs in the workplace

46. AIDS and the workplace • With HIV/AIDS in the workspace, many organisations are becoming more vulnerable to the loss exposure associated with the increasing presence of the disease • There are many employees who suffer from AIDS or have dependants, spouses and significant others , or friends with the disease

47. AIDS and the workplace (cont..) • AIDS is said to be the leading cause of death for people aged 20 and 45 years ( prime working years) and more recent figures the 45+ • Because of this AIDS has become a critical health issue for employers and employees alike • AIDS related corporate expenses include life insurance, pension costs, disability benefits, health insurance cost of hiring and training and replacement , cost of lawsuits, loss of productivity

48. AIDS and the workplace (cont..) • The laws now protects the AIDS employees from being discriminated against – either during hiring or during employment • What steps the employer is taking – HIV/AIDS workplace programmes – putting an organizational AIDS policy in place and training to ensure all employees understand the policy and its implications

49. Drugs and alcohol in the workspace • Drug, alcohol and substance abuse costs organisations money in form of loss of productivity, accidents, absenteeism, turnover, medical claims and theft • Others are increased on the job violence, workforce irritability, fistfights • Employees using drugs are 3.6 times more likely to be involved on-the-job accidents than other employees and more liability insurance

50. Drugs in the workplace (cont..) • Symptoms include unexcused and frequent absence, tardiness and early departures, fights with employees, on-the-job accidents and poor judgments • Solution – have policies on drug/alcohol abuse , drug testing programme, establish penalties for drug/alcohol abuse, educate employees on drug/alcohol abuse risks