OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

 

Occupational Health and Safety

                Figure 1: Work Safety

The state of wellbeing is known as employee health. It encompasses not only physical health but also mental and emotional health. Every employer has a duty to provide a safe working environment for his staff. He might avoid replacing employees who are hurt or murdered by being cautious about their health and the expense of disability benefits. The organization may improve the employees' mental and physical wellbeing through employee safety and health initiatives (Suman, 2023).

Importance of health and safety

·      Making sure your employees go home after each workday in good health and safety is morally right.

·   Your workplace will be more productive and effective if you take steps to safeguard your employees.

·        According to research, employees who work in environments that prioritize health and safety are more productive.

·        Your organization will experience fewer interruptions and spend less money if illness and accident-related downtime are reduced.

·        Legal compliance with health and safety regulations is required in some nations where they are considered criminal laws. Senior executives who violate the law may be prosecuted, fined, or even imprisoned. Your commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility, which will include how you safeguard your workers, may need to be demonstrated in order to draw in investors and collaborations.

·        Customers are becoming more and more interested in purchasing goods and services that were created ethically; therefore, you must consider the working conditions at every stage of your supply chain and work only with moral vendors that care about their employees (Iosh, 2021).

Health and safety responsibilities of employees

·         Taking care of your own health and safety, and that of others

·         Not putting anyone at risk through what you do, or neglect to do

·     Cooperating with your employer and those your work with, to comply with health and safety laws and regulations

·         Participate in training offered by your employer

·         Follow safety procedures and instructions

·         Handling machinery, equipment and substances in line with training

·       Reporting on any medications that make you drowsy, affecting your ability to operate machinery

·         Not deliberately interfering or misusing equipment or safety measures

·         Not being under the influence of an intoxicant that could affect your ability to work safely

·         Report any shortcomings in, or concerns about, health and safety arrangements

·        Report any defects in machinery, equipment, or working systems that present danger (Pro Safety , 2020).

 

 

                      Figure 2: Occupational health and safety responsibilities of employers

Who is responsible for workplace health and safety?

Understanding who is in charge of workplace health and safety and what steps you may take to protect the health and safety of your workers, contractors, and other people who can be impacted by your operating operations is crucial for you as an employer. Although no one person is solely responsible, employers bear the majority of the burden for workplace health and safety. In truth, the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 states that ensuring workplace health and safety is everyone's general responsibility, including that of employers, workers, company owners, managers, and others (such as those responsible for maintaining work facilities). To put it simply, everyone bears some degree of responsibility for workplace health and safety (British Safety Counsil , 2023).

 

Conclusion

Within organizations, human resources specialists are taking on responsibility for security, safety, and health. The identification of risky situations and behaviors, exposure control and mitigation techniques, legal compliance, the creation of a safety culture, and effectiveness assessments of health, safety, and security programs are some examples of these duties. The protection of people who are working or employed is the focus of the multidisciplinary field of occupational health and safety. A safe workplace is what all occupational health and safety initiatives aim to promote. It may also serve as a supplementary safeguard for those affected by the office environment, such as coworkers, family members, employers, clients, vendors, surrounding neighborhoods, and other members of the public. Occupational medicine, occupational (or industrial) hygiene, public health, safety engineering, chemistry, and health physics are just a few of the numerous topic areas that may be involved in this.

References

British Safety Counsil , 2023. British Safety Counsil. [Online]

[Accessed 3 May 2023].

Iosh, 2021. Iosh. [Online]

Available at: https://iosh.com/news/why-health-and-safety-is-important/#:~:text=By%20protecting%20your%20workers%2C%20you,and%20saves%20your%20business%20money.

[Accessed 3 May 2023].

Pro Safety , 2020. Pro Safety. [Online]

Available at: https://www.prosafetymanagement.co.uk/health-and-safety-responsibilities-of-employees/

[Accessed 3 May 2023].

Suman, M., 2023. Business mnagement Ideas. [Online]

Available at: https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/employee-management/employee-health-and-safety/20855

[Accessed 3 May 2023].

 

 

 

Figure 1: Work Safety. 1

Figure 2: Occupational health and safety responsibilities of employers. 2