Health & Safety, a Strategic Element of Management in Organizations
“Safe work creates no obstacles to being competitive and successful. In fact, no country, and no company in the long run has been able to jump to a high level of productivity without making sure that the work environment is safe” (International Labour Organization, Global Employment Agenda cited in Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations, 2014, p.1).
Safety & health has become a key topic in organizations worldwide.
With the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic, the necessity for programs aiming proper health and safety has emphasized, to better manage the new post-pandemic working environment, while boosting employee psychological mindset by instilling and assuring safety at all tiers of the organization (World Health Organization, 2021).
As explained in Figure 1 below, Good Health and Well Being is one key factor of the United Nations Sustainability Goals of 2016. In 2020, United Nations highlighted the need for workplace safety &health in facing the post epidemic period to create economic sustainability.
Figure 1 - The 17 Sustainable Development Goals announced by United Nations
Source: (United Nations, 2016).
Organizational Safety Climate
“The core meaning of safety climate concerns the perceived management towards employee protection” (Yuan, Ye and Zhong, 2021).
Employee perception of Health & Safety in the organization and impact to the organizational performance
Safety climate in the workplace can promote and influence employee attitudes and will affect their efficiency and effectiveness at work, creating an organizational culture adapted from the top tiers of the organization to the bottom tiers (Neal and Griffin, 2004).
For example, with the widespread of COVID19 decease, the organization of my experience, which is a leading commercial bank, has taken initiatives in ensuring health and safety of employees by allocating roster based employee work arrangements, bringing in work from home concept with provision of required utilities, facilitating sanitization and disinfecting methods at office premises, educating employees of the standard health guidelines and evaluating adherence, provision of transport services between workplace and employee residence at a nominal fee to mitigate the risk of employees being exposed to the general public.
All these facilitations have created a sense of safety in the minds of employees which has resulted in them serving the organization with no interruption owing to the pandemic. Further, the employees have shown high levels of positivity, dedication, and voluntary contribution towards achieving the organizational goals despite the unfavorable external factors.
Going a step further, the organization adopted the guidelines issued by health authorities and complied with them in areas of allowing customers to bank premises and serving them with strict adherence to guidelines issued by the health authorities, to ensure the continuation of serving the organizations customers thereby driving the organization towards objectives, vision, and mission.
Role of the Management
Organizations will have to be attentive to the strategic need for health and safety. It is more than compliance; since 2020 it has become a must to move forward to create an organization that prioritizes health and safety and not only aiming the impact from a pandemic, but to encounter future epidemic or disasters that will have a much greater negative impact on the organizational operation.
Top management involvement is much anticipated when incorporating a health and safety plan into the organizational structure, this will require complete integration with all tiers of the organization tier levels, training, and feedback and control systems. Different levels of the hierarchy, the involvement and the contributions will vary from concept development to technical contributions (Fire, Safety, IT Integration to work from home), the communication must be sound, and skillful administration and leadership will be a key asset when implementing Safety & Health Programs.
Fostering a proper health and safety plan will save millions and time, related to losses in the future, reduce insurance claims and protect employees and contribute to the overall performance of the organization through a positive attitude (Cort W. Rudolph et al, 2020).
Training the employees on health and safety and communicating the guidelines and procedures is vital, occupational safety and health needed to be integrated to the organizations Strategic Plan. Workplace health and safety has a substantial impact on the organizational business.
As a preventive method, organizations should proactively offer training and gain feedback from the employees. Safety should never be an after-thought; commitment to health and safety makes good business sense. After all, by implementing strategies to improve health and safety, the organization would protect the greatest resource being employees (Crook, T. R. et al 2011).
Leaders exhibit a vital role in emphasizing the significance of safe work practices, safe work environments and demonstrating commitment towards same, thereby influencing the perception of employees towards an organization that is considerate of employee safety (Barling, Loughlin and Kelloway, 2002).
A compassionate leader with integrity who manages the negative effects of the pandemic effectively will lessen the fear and resentment of employees towards having to return to work amidst the pandemic and will be grateful towards the leader for the care demonstrated in uplifting their morale (Slaughter et al., 2021).
Conclusion
After reviewing the stated theories with the quoted examples and regular observations from their application to work, it is concluded that safety and health are indeed key elements of management of an organization.
References
Barling, J., Loughlin, C. and Kelloway, E., (2002) Development and test of a model linking safety-specific transformational leadership and occupational safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, [online] 87(3), pp.488-496. Available at: <https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2002-01666-007> [Accessed 5 September 2021].
Crook, T. R., Todd, S. Y., Combs, J. G., Woehr, D. J., & Ketchen, D. J. (2011). Does human capital matter? A meta-analysis of the relationship between human capital and firm performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96.
Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations (2014). The national occupational safety and health policy (1st ed.) Sri Lanka [online]. Available at: https://www.eohfs.health.gov.lk. [Accessed on 5 September 2021].
Neal, A., & Griffin, M. A. (2004). Safety climate and safety at work. In J. Barling& M. R. Frone (Eds.), The psychology of workplace safety (pp.15–34). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10662-002.
Rudolph, C., Allan, B., Clark, M., Hertel, G., Hirschi, A., Kunze, F., Shockley, K., Shoss, M., Sonnentag, S. and Zacher, H., (2020) Pandemics: Implications for Research and Practice in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. [online] Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/> [Accessed 5 September 2021]. Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 May 2021, pp. 1-35 discussing the importance to provide better psychological working environment.
Slaughter, J., Gabriel, A., Ganster, M., Vaziri, H. and MacGowan, R., (2021) Getting worse or getting better? Understanding the antecedents and consequences of emotion profile transitions during COVID-19-induced organizational crisis. Journal of Applied Psychology, [online] 106(8), pp.1118-1136. Available at: <https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-77825-002> [Accessed 5 September 2021].
United Nations, sustainable development knowledge platform, sustainable development goals. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs. [Accessed 30 January 2021].
WHO.int. (2021) Returning to work. [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/returning-to-work> [Accessed 5 September 2021].
Yuan, Z., Ye, Z. and Zhong, M., (2021) Plug back into work, safely: Job reattachment, leader safety commitment, and job engagement in the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(1), pp.62-70.
I agree with above content. Management should make employee health and safety a top priority since they save lives, enhance productivity, and save costs. Employee involvement, ongoing monitoring, and an overall wellness component should all be emphasized in these health and safety programs (Anthony, 2007). Workplace safety necessitates that working circumstances should not put employees in danger of becoming unable to do their jobs.
ReplyDeleteYes, Provision of support of wellness programs is one of the methods that an organization can communicate to its' employees on the level of care shown over employees, thereby boosting the image of the organization from the employee's perspective of view (Lee et al., 2010).
DeleteAgreed with above argument. Further, Risk is all-around. In pandemic or not, risk awareness and implementation policies and procedures are compulsory for any organization (Choudhry, 2014). My current and former companies are highly engaged with telecommunications and consistently follow the safety guidelines; climbing ladders and towers, working height, and driving likewise.
ReplyDeleteTrue, each organization would have to comply with guidelines and procedures on safety and health, and the procedures were re-viewed with the arrival of the pandemic. As for example manufacturing organizations would have to comply with the standards and procedures as stated by National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2009.
DeleteYes. in addition It is generally assumed that organizations have been advancing safety in organizational environment to trigger favorable circumstance which organizations needed for safety establishments (Gong, 2019). Workplace fatality rate has reached at a frightening point, where 2.3 million causalities and 1.9 million severe injuries (Pereira, Ahn, Han & Abourizk, 2020) showing an increasing trend. In response to these figures, organizations are getting more concerned toward employee’s safety and respective parameters (Abubakar, Yazdian & Behravesh, 2018; Chughtai, 2015; Molnar, Schwarz, Hellgren, Hasson and Tafvelin, 2019).
ReplyDeleteIndeed Chathuri. Even though it is a necessity to earn profits and Firms emphasis should on same, Firms should also consider the social welfare of employees and the society as a whole and further employers should focus on issues that has a direct link with business (Grayson and Hodges, 2001).
ReplyDeleteSafety culture is a jewelry for the employees in the organization ultimately to the corporate value of the organization as well(Cooper, 2000). Some researches indicates that health and safety policies should be under management commitment(Thompson, 1998).
ReplyDeleteAgreed, for effective implementation, capabilities and support mechanisms should be achieved by organizations, which is necessary to achieve the safety and health policy, objectives and targets. All employees should be motivated and empowered to work safely and to protect their long-term health, not simply to avoid accidents (Chan, 2006)
ReplyDeleteconsistent with the arguments of Makin and Winder (2008), the building blocks of an effective health and safety management system (HSMS) should include practices related to creating a ‘safe place’ (e.g., access/egress, electrical, noise, hazardous substances, preventative and predictive maintenance, housekeeping, etc.), sustaining ‘safe people’ (e.g., H&S training, psychosocial risk management, health surveillance, performance appraisals, etc.), and continuous improvement (e.g., recordkeeping, management review, etc.).
ReplyDeleteagreed, Effective implementation of these global safety and health management strategies requires that safety and health professionals map out the best strategy for their corporate business climate and culture. Companies are unique; one size does not fit all. (Kathy A. Seabrook, CSP, RSP (UK), is president of Global Solutions Inc., Mendham, N.J)
ReplyDeleteAgreed with your view, in addition Neal and Griffin (2002) in the review of safety climate literature noted two important points; first that not much research has been conducted to identify various organizational factors that can build and retain safety climate; second, they identified leadership to be one of the most important factors in ensuring safety climate which has not been given due consideration.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Once an organization adopts safety into the organization culture, it integrates into all functions of the organization, integrating all functional tiers, including legal and compliance (Schneid, 2008).
ReplyDeleteYes Agree Chathuri , Adding to that the overall effectiveness of workplace safety and security measures depends on an organization's ability to effectively communicate safety and security goals and objectives (Zara, 2010) A communication strategy should be devised and implemented in a manner that supports the goals and objectives of the safety management program.
ReplyDelete