hrm - excel books - chapter 18

8/9/2019 HRM - Excel Books - Chapter 18

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

EXCEL BOOKS18-1

18Chapter


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ANNOTATED OUTLINE

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EMPLOYEE HEALTH: INTRODUCTION

Poor working conditions affect employee performance badly. Under

such stressful conditions, employees may not be able to concentrate

on work, leading to serious accidents, at times. Companies with poorsafety record, not surprisingly, find it difficult to hire and retain skilled

labour force on a long term basis. In their own interest, therefore,

employers should take up health and safety issues seriously and do

everything possible to improve the living conditions of employees.

Health And Safety


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Typical health and safety

responsibilities

Health And Safety

HR Unit

r inat s hea lth and safet pr rammes

Deve l ps safet repo rting s stem

Offers acciden t investigation expertiseProv ides techn ica l expertise on accident

prevention

Dev e lops restricted- acc ess procedu res

and employee iden tification systems

Trains managers to recogn ise and handle

difficult emp loyee situations

Managers

Monitor hea lth and safety o f emp loyees daily

Coach employees to be safety conscious

Investigate accidentsObserve health and safety behaviour of emp loyees

Monitor workplace for security problems

Communicate with employees to iden tify po tentially

difficult emp loyees

Follow safety prov isions and security procedures

and recommend changes as needed


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Health And Safety

Legalprovisionsregardinghealth(section 11 to 20, Factories Act,

1948)

Cleanliness

Wastes

Ventilationandtemperature

ustandfumes

Artificialhumidification

Overcrowding

Lighting rinkingwater

Latrinesandurinals

Spittoons

EMPLOYEE HEALTH


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Measures to promote employeehealth

Health promotion focuses on prevention rather than treatment or

cure. The core health promotion activities cover the following areas

Healthy living

Eating wisely

Exercise and physical fitness

Smoking cessation

Stress management

Protecting oneself from workplace hazards

Health And Safety


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Components of a typical wellnessprogramme

Health And Safety

The basic objective of wellness programmes is to help employees build lifestyles

that will help them to achieve their full physical and mental potential. Such a

programme is built around the following things:

Educating employees about health-risk factors such as high blood pressure,

smoking, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle, obesity,

stress, poor nutrition etc.

Identifying the health- risk factors that each employee faces

Helping employees eliminate or reduce these risks through healthier

lifestyles and habits

Enabling employees to self monitor and evaluate where they stand from

time to time.

Employee assistance programmes covering workplace violence

Employee assistance programmes offer counselling, medical help

and rehabilitation opportunities to all troubled employees.


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Health And Safety

Dealing with violent employees

Features

Frustration

History of

aggression

Loner

StressTemperloss

Angry most of

thetime

Co nsequenc es

Verbal threats

Blamingothers

Pickingfights

Intimidating

Upsetoverminorinjustices

Assaultive physical

actions

Supervisory/Outside

support

Talktoemployee

Allowthepersontovent

someofthehostilityand

anger

InvolveHRexpertsor

trained counsellors in

the wellness

programme.

Preventive Steps

Consult specialists wh o would help

formulate a plan fo r identifying,

defusingandrecoveringfromaviolent

act.

Establishaprocedurefor investigating

anypotentiallyviolenttalkoraction.

Setupacrisismanagementteamtotake

decisions quickly(counsellingthevictim,

handlingmediaetc.)

Trainsupervisorsandmanagerssothat

they can identify the warning signals

early, and resolve conflicts smoothly.

Helpemployeesadjusttochangessuch

asdownsizing,VRS,retrenchmentetc.

Beawareofpotentialrisksandrespond

appropriately. When th e employee

threatens to kill somebody, take it

seriously an d respond proactively

instead of presuming that he will not

indulge insuchatrociousbehaviour.


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Health And Safety

Emotional problems

Depressed employees are difficult to handle in that they show signs of

irritation, carry guilt feelings and indulge in violence Employees with

such emotional problems could be helped through

Listening attentively and sympathetically; extending emotionalsupport

Removing irritants

Taking to a psychologist

EMPLOYEE HEALTH


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Confront the employee with evidence

Provide coaching to improve employee performance

Encourage the employee to take up assistance programmes

Inform the employee about consequences of poor performance

Arrange for in-house counselling in case of drug addicts

Initiate disciplinary proceedings against those unwilling to learn

Health And Safety

Dealing with alcoholism and drugabuse: supervisory role


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Employee Safety

The main purpose of effective safety programmes in an organisation

is to prevent work related injuries and accidents. Safety measures in

a factory would cover:

Slipping and falling hazards

Collision and obstruction hazards

Equipment hazards

Fire hazards

Hazards from falling objects

Health And Safety


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Improperly guarded equipments

Defective equipment, machines

Unsafe storage: congestion, overloading

Improper illumination: glare, insufficient light

Improper ventilation Falls on stairs, ladders, walkways

Congested workplace

Unsafe acts such as throwing materials

Unsafe procedures in loading, placing or mixing or by lifting improperly

People with impaired vision; under the influence of drugs or alcohol; and whoexhibit negative, violent behaviours

Health And Safety

Causes for accidents

[D. Hoffmann A. Stetzer, A cross level investigation of factors influencing unsafe behaviours and accidents. Personnel Psychology,

49,1996.]


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Indianscenario:Lawsgoverningemployeesafety

The Factories Act

TheIndianElectricity Act

ThePesticides Act

TheBoilerAct

TheEnvironmentProtection Actetc.

Health And Safety

Supervisors who are supposed to oversee the implementation of the

provisions of various legislative pieces in India are a stretched lot, since

they have to cover lot of ground. Employers, typically, are also notinterested in putting latest safety equipment in place. Due to poverty

and unemployment, workers especially women and child labour are

forced to work under totally unsafe conditions. Supervisors in such a

scenario, have a great role to play .

Employee Safety


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Health And Safety

Employee Safety

Any salary increase awarded to an employee based on his or herperformance is called merit pay. It is like rewarding the best performers withthe largest increases in Effective safety management

This would include the following steps

Establishing a safety policy

Ensuring top management support

Creating safety committees

Promoting safety discipline

Instituting safety engineering procedures

Offering safety training

Investigating reasons for accidents Evaluating safety efforts

Seeking support from government pay as an appreciative gesture from theemployer. When high achievers are rewarded, they set the benchmarks forothers to follow. But the whole process of recognising merit, measuringperformance, picking up the winners need to be followed objectively.


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Safety: Legal Provisions

Fencing Of achinery

Working On Or Near achinery In otion

Employment Of Young Persons

Striking GearAnd Devices For Cutting Off Power

SelfActing achines

Casing Of New achinery

Employment Of Women, Children Near Cotton Openers

HoistsAnd Lifts

Lifting achines, ChainsAnd Ropes

Revolving achinery

Pressure Plant

Health And Safety


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Floors, StairsAnd eans ofAccess

Pits, Sumps, Openings In Floors

Excessive Weights

Protection of Eyes Dangerous FumesAnd Gases

Precautions With Regard To Portable Electrical Light

Explosive or Inflammable Gas orDust

Precautions In Case ofFire

Safety of BuildingAnd achinery

Safety Officers

Health And Safety

Safety: Legal Provisions

hrm - excel books - chapter 18

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