Importance of Human Resource Management in fostering a Workplace Health and Safety Culture
“People are the most important and valuable asset of any organization” (Casos Singulares, 2021).
The development of a healthy Human Resource Management (HRM) is vital for organizations today, to instill skills and knowledge to support the health, safety, and well-being of employees (Barlund et al, n.d).
Perception of Human Resources has changed in the current organization context, which demands creativity and innovation-based competencies to achieve total quality and well–being (Meri, 2020).
Further, since an organizational safety culture would be based on the values, norms, and behaviors of the employees, managing HRM is important for an organization to achieve a better safety culture.
Management by Objectives (MBO) developed by Peter Drucker, based on his book, The Practice of Management of 1954, explains that each hierarchy of the organization should be integrated to fulfill the need for commitment, responsibility, and maturity (Communication Theory, 2017).
Through proper HRM, the psychological needs of employees have to be addressed to improve employee commitment and engagement towards a safer and healthier workplace (Heaver, 2021).
Application of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a motivational theory of leadership in psychology can be used by organizations to create and develop a positive mindset in employees and enhance employee engagement (Heaver, 2021). This is explained in Figure 1 below, which refers to the application of theory to describe how employee motivation and satisfaction of their job correlates with the perceived level of employee engagement.
For example, various unpredicted external factors can create a sense of uncertainty and worry over job security, concern over acceptance at the job, and lack of motivation in employees, which needs to be addressed by HRM by attending to each of their needs resulting in enhancing the employee perception of involvement, which motivates the employees. Both employee engagement and satisfaction are important in achieving any organizational plan, including the health and safety plan. Having a better safety plan assist in creating a better safety culture in the organization. Throughout this process, Human Resources Management plays a key role by appropriately handling the people factor.
Figure 1 – Maslow’s Theory in the perspective of Leadership Employee Engagement
Source – (Heaver, 2021)
At the topmost level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid, employees are self-satisfied and inspire others, which is associated with a better safety culture. HRM plays a major role in this regard.
Figure 2 below, demonstrates the key factors that contributes to The Psychologically Healthy Workplace.
the level of employee well-being
the level of organizational performance
One such contributor that has an impact on both, is occupational health and safety. It further explains the correlation between employee well-being and organizational performance. The importance of occupational safety and health is therefore considered as a contribution towards organizational performance (Buffet et al, 2013).
Figure 2 – The Psychologically Healthy Workplace
Source: (Buffet et al, 2013)
The role of HRM towards achieving a psychologically healthy workplace involves the creation of transparent policies and standards, managing conflicts, provide guidance, encourage employees, attending to grievances, monitoring performance, improvements, and adapting to new situations, all of which result in a positive attitude of employees and thereby making a better safety culture at work (Health Service Executive (HSE) Dublin North East, 2011).
References
Barlund, H., Sundstrom, H. and Reinikainen, A. (n.d) Strategy Based HR Management in Practice – Experience of Statistics Finland. [online] Unece.org. Available at: <https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/HRMT_w_cover_resized.pdf> [Accessed 6 September 2021].
Buffet, M., Gervais, R. and Liddle, M. (2013) Well-being at work: creating a positive work environment. [online] Osha.europa.eu. Available at: <https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/well-being-work-creating-positive-work-environment> [Accessed 6 September 2021].
Business Transformation Network. (2021) Maslow in the Context of Leadership and Employee Engagement by Shea Heaver. [online] Available at: <https://www.thebtn.tv/exclusive-content/article/maslow-context-leadership-and-employee-engagement-shea-heaver> [Accessed 6 September 2021].
Communication Theory. (2017) Management by objectives (drucker). Communication Theory. Available at: https://www.communicationtheory.org/management-by-objectives-drucker/ [Accessed September 5, 2021].
Meri, M. (2020) New trends in hrm & knowledge management in the health sector beyond covid-19 - a practical model," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 10(5), pp.5-21,
Well written article while adding further Working as research consultants for the American Psychological Association, Grawitch, Gottschalk, and Munz (2006) conducted a multidisciplinary overview of studies on psychologically healthy workplaces. They came to the conclusion that in a psychologically healthy workplace, five sorts of practices arise.
ReplyDeleteEmployee participation,
Work–life balance is important
Employee development and growth
Employee Appreciation
Safety and health
Agreed. Health, safety, and wellness are the key outcomes of an occupational safety and health program. Work stress, employee engagement, rewards, training, motivational programs are built into the OSH assessment and evaluation (Neal and Griffin, 2006).
DeleteAccordingly to Choudhry (2014), safety culture is an enduring system and a priority on employee and public safety by all the members at all levels of an organization. On the other hand, employees need to commit to personal responsibility for safety (Choudhry, 2014). Agreed with you.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Safety culture integrates all functional tiers of the organization into one holistic approach for better communication along the hierarchy. Health, safety and well-being of others becomes the responsibility of each and every employee, with intrinsic rewards encouraging motivation (Griffin and Neal, 2000).
DeleteYes HR managers more influence health & safety culture in organization. An associated challenge of these developments is to recognize a notion of creativity as normative and potentially distributed rather than confined to certain privileged individuals or roles (Sonnenburg, 2004)
ReplyDeleteAgreed. It depends on the country and the organizational involvement in the health, safety and wellness program . If safety is adopted in the organization culture, it becomes a responsibility of all employees. HRM will be the key communicator and the bridge between safety and health policies and their compliance with employee engagement (Dejoy, 2005).
DeleteAgreed and in a different aspect it can be a marketing/promotional tool for the organization to gain reputation due to consumer sensitivity towards brand image and values (Wright and Marsden, 2005).
ReplyDeleteAgreed. If the organization has adopted the safety culture it becomes a responsibility of the organization to safeguard the micro and macro environment , and to have an ethical approach by promoting health and wellness through CSR programs (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2004).
DeleteIf organization has not adopted the safety culture, but deem to use it for marketing programs and to attract employees, they could easily do same by using fear as the key element of the AIDA process (Lewis, 1898).
Yes it is important to maintain health and safety culture by the HRM. While implementing this culture, it is essential to provide better training to aware employee about important of safety culture and hoe to be health and safe I the workplace, so employer has to provide instruction and necessary trainings and safety consulting and representation process have to be monitored(workplace safety and health management, 2006).
ReplyDeleteAgreed. HRM has become the key facilitator and the communicator, but safety and health training will be conducted through OSH compliance officers (Schneid, 2008).
DeleteAgreed. As per the Era (2013), there is a direct connection between safety and wellness, yet most companies treat these as separate initiatives and manage them in separate departments, using separate programs, budgets, measures, and reward systems. This is not an insignificant issue, because without properly connecting them under one integrated system, accidents, injuries, and lost productivity often result, as well as higher labor and insurance costs. In addition, in certain industries and jobs, product and service quality suffers and, in general, a drop in employee engagement can occur.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAgreed. Human capitol has become a key asset of every organization in achieving global competitiveness, this has made organizations moving from traditional systems to organizational culture model, which integrates whole safety, health, and wellness structure as the backbone for employee engagement, motivation, rewards, policies, well-being, CSR, risk management, compliances and any other that variable in the objectives (Schneid, 2008).
DeleteYes, organization plays a vital role in ensuring employee health and safety, as they know the workplace, the employees and their job demands. While organizations are not focused on the technical aspects of workplace health and safety, they should know when and how to use existing resources to respond to employee concerns. In many organizations, the aspects of health and safety responsibilities are bound within the human resources department (Bansal, 2020)
ReplyDeleteAgreed. With the current situation, the HR department needs to focus on health and safety. Further, the right to refuse dangerous work and know that employees are protected from reprisal. The right to know about workplace hazards and have access to basic health and safety information. The right to participate in health and safety discussions and health and safety committees (Alberta).
ReplyDeleteAgreed, and Given their responsibility for people, culture, and associated policies and procedures, human resource management plays a critical role in supporting workplace health and safety.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Health, safety and wellness programs engage more with human assets than machines. It evolves through training , motivation and physicals and psychological well-being of employees (Scott et al, 2014).
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