Organizational Health and Safety - Essay Example

Organizational Health and Safety Changes in the working environment in the last two decades have posed a new challenge to the human resource manager in their role of ensuring a conducive environment for its employees. The organizational Health and Safety Act in UK demands that systematic management be implemented to ensure that the health of the employees is guaranteed in all organizations.The introduction of sophisticated technology and industrialization has brought changes in the working environment putting some workers at higher health risks than others within the same organization. For instance, those employees in the mechanical workshops in industries are more vulnerable to injuries than any other employee due to the machineries they interact with. In ICT based companies, those interacting with laser machines are more vulnerable to harmful radiations as compared to those in other offices within the same organization. This essay, will evaluate the changes that have occurred in the work environment and how they have affected the health and safety of employees. The argument that this essay puts forward is that the Human resource managers should take into consideration the dramatic changes in the modern work environment while implementing Organizational Health and Safety Policies. Employees’ health refers to the physical condition of employees to be free from any form of injuries or illness that may result from the environment that they are exposed to in the work place. Safety refers to the ability of the organization to provide a working environment that does not expose its employees to the risk of contracting a disease or even any form of injury. The availability of the employees to handle their duties and their productivity each day depends on their health conditions (Safe Work Australia, 2011). In addition, research has proved that healthy employees will provide high quality and quantity of work as compared to unhealthy ones. Employees comprise one of the organization's limited resources that must be managed and utilized in the most effective way possible to guarantee the success of an organization.The aim of strategic management is to guarantee employee productivity through effective organizational workforce management. In the last 30 years, industrial revolution has become evident in most parts of the world including UK(Holmes & Gifford, 2002); most countries have engaged in industrial development as a strategy to develop their economic status by providing cost effective goods and providing employment forthe majority of employees. The industries have attracted many employees in the diverse departments of the organization and the economic benefit that has resulted from this kind of trend cannot be undermined. However, this has brought a new challenge to the employees’ health and safety welfare due to the environmental impact of these industries. For instance, petroleum industries have become a great threat not only to the health of employees but to the world at large. The emissions associated with these companies contain a lot of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and sulfur-dioxide which is knownfor their atmospheric pollution.This has become a demotivation for employees in this sector and their withdrawal has had adverse effects on productivity of these companies. In brief, changes in the industrial sector has changed the working environment, exposing its employees to toxic gases that may are hazardous to their lives. Another change that has impacted on the health and safety issues in the work environment is the introduction of sophisticated technology in the workplace. The investment of many companies in the IT technology has been emphasized due to the technological demands of the dynamic market conditions. It is indisputable that introduction of this technology has come along with numerous merits in the transformation of service efficiency. With implementation of LAN technology it is possible for managers to implement business operations in from remote home locations (Somerville, 2005). However, the impacts of this kind of transitions have been undermined putting the life of employees at risk of suffering permanent ailments.Electromagnetic radiations that are associated with electronic gadgets such as laser printers have posed may have a great impact on the employee health conditions. The Health and Safety risk that comes along with environmental changes affect different groups of employees differently. Lowe (2012) points out that employees in the same environment receive are exposed to health and safety risks in different magnitudes. In a company, various departments form clear boundaries which differentiate employee responsibilities and working conditions in the same organization. For instance, the management department operates in a completely different environment with the technical department in the company. This is featured even in the environment that the various departments work in, and consequently the risks that each department may be vulnerable to. In industrial sectors, the production team interacts with the polluted air that puts them at higher health risk, which is a concern for organizational health and safety (OHS). For instance, toxic gases such as carbon monoxide are dangerous while sulfur dioxide is a proven cause of heart diseases. Companies such as Shell, a crude oil company, have been criticized for exposing its employees to the dangers of contracting deadly diseases due to the gases that are associated with petroleum products. In IT technology, Wailoo (2002) points out that employees operating on laser machines for the better part of their lives are exposed to radiations that have a may expose them to heart cancer.In a nutshell, health and safety issues in the work environment can be identified by considering the various departments of the organization. Companies have adopted different mechanisms to implement health and safety in their institutions as a strategy to optimize employees' output in the industry. An example of a company that has been faced with health and safety issues is Shell Company, which is an international oil and gas supplier. Under pressure of legal forces, Shell was among the companies that invested in Strategic safety Management to settle the health and safety issues that were facing the company from within the workforce. The company employed the IAMR model that involved identification of hazards, their assessment and management, and the final recovery process. In the first stage, the company prepared a list of potential hazards such as hydrocarbon gases, sulfur chemicals, and fire risks that formed a hazard list. Then, these hazards were ranked depending on their significance as a way of determining the priority that should be assigned to each risk. Consequently, they were able to define management strategies that would comprehensively resolve the problems the risks by concentrating their attention to the vulnerable group of employees in the organization. Finally, the company instituted mitigation measures to reduce the risk factors by implementing effective mechanisms for disposal of waste gas (Gunningham, 2004). Organizations that are technology-dependent companies have resorted to different methods of resolving health and safety issues within the working environment. In some companies, the risk factors are hard to mitigate and they have suffered the consequences of losing many employees due to the unhealthy working environment. For instance, companies that use laser machines rely on this technology as the principal production technology. Consequently, it is a lethal but essential and unavoidable technology that defines the wellbeing of the company (Eales & Spence, 2005). In such companies, the human resource management has assigned risk allowances to motivate their employees to work in the unfriendly environment, specifically those who in direct risk of suffering from the laser radiations. Often, employees in such departments receive higher salaries and benefits as a part of recognizing the stake of their welfare, which will encourage them to produce optimally. However, the rise health and safety issues that have risen in the companies have become a hard nut to crack. The implementation of health and safety policies in an organization comes with a number of challenges, which are often unpredictable at the early stage. The fact is that companies have to sacrifice a great part of their profits to resolve these issues, either by compensating the employees or by mitigating the risks. Introduction of risk allowance may be an expensive strategy especially in companies where the risk is spread across the entire worker population. In companies where risk allowance is awarded to a specific department, it is often that other employees interpret it as a double standard salary implementation resulting to worker dissatisfaction (Bliff, 2001).Consequently, the management may remain reluctant to implement health and safety policies due to fear of the company losses and negative worker attitudes that may come along with the process. Harris (2007) proposes preventive OHS strategies that can be used to provide to an employee-friendly environment in modern organizations. He proposes that the best strategy to control risk factors in the working environment is to institute mitigation measures as a pro-active action to guarantee employee safety, rather than compensate them while they risk their lives.In his view, this would include protective clothing for technical personnel, gas masks for individual working in environments with chemical gases and chemical treatment of gases before their release.The government in many states has instituted government policies to regulate pollution and the health and safety issues that arise within organizations as a strategy of protecting the community. In the UK, the British non-departmental civic body provided regulations to safeguard the health of the employees in their occupations.Other OHS activists have suggested an integrated strategy that includes risk mitigation and employee compensation to ensure a healthy working environment (Andonakis & Loosemore, 2006). In brief, the OHS in the modern work environment has become a complex issue requiring a multi-varied approach to accomplish. In conclusion, Organizational Health and Safety has become a major concern for the human resource management in most of the states. The changes in the working environment have resulted from the incentives of companies to integrate technology in every business aspect, hence bringing a whole new environment in the work place. Despite the advantages that are associated with technology, it has predisposed certain groups of employees to higher risks of suffering from injury or illnesses resulting from the environment they work in.Air pollution, dangerous radiations and chemical releases are great threats for employees in industries.The human resource managers have a challenge to institute effective strategies to mitigate these risks and to motivate employees to work in these harsh environments. Although the process is complex, its success determines the optimal utilization of human labour in organizational development. References Andonakis, N. and Loosemore, M., (2006) Barriers to implementing OHS reforms – the Experiences of small subcontractors in the Australian Construction Industry. Retrieved from: Bliff, C., (2001).Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. Retrieved from: Eales, J. and Spence, L. (2005). Influencing Behaviour in Organisations. In Barker and Coy Understanding influence for leaders at all levels, McGraw Hill, Australia, pp. 193-224. Gunningham, N., (2004). OHS Regulation for a Changing World of Work.Annandale: Federation Press. Harris, D., (2007). Organizational Management and Information systems. Philadelphia: Elsevier Publications. Holmes, N., and Gifford, S., (2002). Narratives of Risk in Occupational Health and Safety: Why the ‘Good’ Boss Blames his Tradesman and the ‘Good’ Tradesman Blames his Tools. Aust N Z J Public Health, 21(1), 32-39. Lowe, G., (2012). Creating Healthy Organizations: How Vibrant Work Places Inspire Employees to Achieve Sustainable Success.Toronto: University of Toronto Safe Work Australia, (2011). How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks. Retrieved from: Somerville, M., (2005). Working Culture: Expanding Notions of Workplace Cultures and Learning at Work. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 13(1), 20-22. Wailoo, K., (2002). Drawing Blood: Technology and Disease in Twentieth Century. New York: JHU press. Read More