Human Resource Management

Dr. Karim Kobeissi

Islamic University of Lebanon - 2014

Chapter 11: A Safe and Healthy Work Environment

Smoke-Free Workplaces: Dealing With the Low-Hanging
Fruit
The Surgeon General has concluded that there is no safe level
of secondhand smoke exposure.
Having smoke-free workplace policies helps to fulfill an
employers legal obligation to provide a safe workplace under
OSHAs (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
act .
The policy also reduces the risk of lawsuit, potentially reduces
workers compensation premiums, and protects employees
from harm.


Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (or OSHA) ensures worker safety and
health in the United States by working with employers
and employees to create better working environments.
Employers are required to provide employees a safe
and healthy place to work, and this responsibility also
extends to providing safe employees.
The courts have reasoned that a dangerous worker is
comparable to a defective machine.


Possible Financial Penalties
Even though OSHA would like a successful partnership
relationship with employers, at times financial penalties
must be imposed. A serious hazard citation has a
maximum penalty of $7,000. A willful citation might have a
maximum amount of $70,000 per violation. Calculated
instance by instance, if 10 employees were exposed to
one hazard that the employer intentionally did not
eliminate, the penalty amount would immediately jump to
$700,000.


OSHA Inspection
The average employer will not likely see an OSHA inspector
unless an employee instigates an inspection. About 70
percent of OSHA inspections have resulted from
employee complaints. When OSHA inspectors come to a
site, the employer has the option of denying the inspector
access to the work site. If the employer refuses access to
certain documents, OSHA must obtain an administrative
subpoena.


Cases When Employee Can Legally Refuse to Work
Employers cannot retaliate against workers who exercise their
rights, and employers who do so may be subjected to penalties.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, an employee
can legally refuse to work when the following conditions exist:
- The employee reasonably fears death, disease, or serious
physical harm The harm is imminent.
- There is too little time to file an OSHA complaint and get the
problem corrected.
- The worker has notified the employer about the condition and
requested correction of the problem, but the employer has not
taken action.


Unsafe Employee Actions: Prevention
Training and orientation of new employees that
emphasizes safety is critical.
The first approach in a safety program is to create a
psychological environment and employee attitudes
that promote safety.
Accident rates decline when workers consciously or
subconsciously think about safety.
Managements role is clear, as OSHA places primary
responsibility for employee safety on the employer.

Reasons for Management Support
of Safety Program
Safety programs are supported by management for a
variety of very good reasons, and not just the potential
lost productivity of an injured worker.
Every phase of human resource management is
involved. For instance, the firm may have difficulty in
recruitment if it gains a reputation for being an unsafe
place to work. Employee relations weaken if workers
believe that management does not care enough about
them to provide a safe workplace.


Job Hazard Analysis
Job hazard analysis is a multistep process designed
to study and analyze a task or job and then break
down that task into steps that provide a means of
eliminating hazards. It results in a detailed written
procedure for safely completing many tasks within a
plant.
OSHA publication 3071, Job Safety Analysis, provides
a good overview on how to conduct this analysis.

Developing a Safety Program
One way to strengthen a safety program is to include employees
in the process. Larger organizations will typically have a full-time
safety engineer or safety director to provide safety training for
company employees. This involves educating line managers about
the merits of safety, and recognizing and eliminating unsafe
situations.
Accidents can happen even in the most safety-conscious firms.
Whether or not an accident results in an injury, an organization
should carefully evaluate each occurrence to determine its cause
and to ensure that it does not happen again. The safety engineer
and the line supervisor should jointly investigate all accidents.

Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the process of designing the workplace
to support the capabilities and needs of people, rather
than requiring employees to make the adjustments.
Ergonomics includes all attempts to structure work
conditions so that they maximize energy conservation,
promote good posture, and allow workers to function
without pain or impairment. Failure to address
ergonomics issues results in fatigue, poor performance,
and repetitive stress injuries.

Workplace Violence
OSHA defines workplace violence as:
physical assault
threatening behavior
verbal abuse
Hostility
harassment directed toward employees at work or on duty.

Workplace violence affects more than two million workers each
year. In the United States, 20 percent of all violent crimes occur
in the workplace.


Legal Consequences of Workplace Violence
In addition to the horror of workplace violence, there is also the
ever-present threat of legal action.
Civil lawsuits claiming negligent hiring or negligent retention are
a constant threat.
Negligent hiring and negligent retention are similar: It is the
liability an employer may incur when it has people on the
payroll whose records indicate a strong potential for
wrongdoing, and fails to take steps to prevent violence.

Preventive Actions
There are two basic parts to violence prevention. First, there must be a
process in place to help with early detection of worker anger. Second,
supervisors and HR staff need to be trained in how to skillfully handle
difficult employment issues. Firms should consider the following
actions to minimize violent acts and to avoid lawsuits:
Forbid weapons on company property, including parking
Under suspicious circumstances, require employees to submit to
weapons searches or examinations for mental fitness for work
Policy of zero tolerance toward violence or threats of violence
Have employees report all suspicious or violent activity

Preventive Actions (cont.)
Relationships with mental health experts
for recommendations in dealing with
emergency situations
Train managers and receptionists to
recognize warning signs of violence and
techniques to diffuse violent situations
Equip receptionists with panic buttons to
alert security instantly
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Potential Consequences of Stress
Stress can be as disturbing to an individual as
any accident. It can result in excessive use of
alcohol or drugs, poor job performance, or even
overall poor health.
Workplace stress is one of the top reasons
employees say they leave organizations.
Twelve of the most stressful jobs are:
1. Manual worker
2. Administrative assistant
3. Inspector
4. Clinical lab technician
5. Office manager
6. Foreman
7. Manager/administrator
8. Waiter-person
9. Machine operator
10. Farm owner
11. Miner
12. Painter

Managing Stress
Exercise
Good diet habits
Know when to pull back
Find someone who will listen
Establish some structure in your life
Recognize your own limitations
Be tolerant
Pursue outside diversions
Avoid artificial control
Put stressful situation into perspective


Wellness Programs
Wellness programs are becoming widespread as more
employers become conscious of the impact employee health
has on the firm.
There is growing evidence that, in addition to containing direct
medical costs, effective health programs boost productivity,
reduce absenteeism, lower turnover, and improve morale.
Optimal health can be achieved through environmental safety,
organizational changes, and healthy lifestyles.
Some companies offer wellness programs that promote healthy
lifestyle measures such as not smoking, and exercising more to
help prevent common lifestyle diseases.

Alcohol Abuse
Alcoholism is a medical disease characterized
by uncontrolled and compulsive drinking that
interferes with normal life. It is a significant
problem that affects people at every level of
society, and it can both result from and cause
excessive stress.
40% of workplace fatalities and 47% of
workplace injuries are related to alcohol
consumption
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Substance-Abuse-Free Workplace
Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988
requires some federal contractors and
all federal grantees to agree that they
will provide drug-free workplaces as a
condition of receiving a contract or
grant from a federal agency.
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Substance Abuse Testing
Most employers use urine testing.
Experts regard blood tests as forensic benchmark
against which to compare others.
Hair sample analysis claims it can detect drug use
from 3 to 90 days after drug consumption.
The use of an oral fluid method is a great
preventive because it can be done immediately
in the workplace and it does not give an individual an
opportunity to substitute a urine specimen.

Employee Assistance Programs
(EAP) (cont.)
Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires federal
employees and employees of firms under government
contract to have access to EAP services.
Primary concern is getting employees to use program.

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