BU354 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Presenteeism, Audiology, Repetitive Strain Injury
Chapter 12 – Ensuring Health and Safety at the Workplace
Eight Dimensions of Safety Climate
Organizational Level Dimensions
1. Management’s commitment to safety
2. Human resource management practices
3. Safety Systems
Local Work Group Dimensions
4. Supervisor support for safety
5. Internal Group Processes
- Communication and support for safety issues within the group
6. Boundary Management
- Quality of communication between the group and other stakeholders
7. Risk
8. Work Pressure
Downsizing and Safety
- The relationship between downsizing and employee safety is beginning to attract
attention in light of the number of downsizings announced in recent years
oDownsizing creates job insecurity, which is associated with low levels of job
satisfaction
Low job satisfaction is related to:
Safety motivation: the motivation of an employee to perform
a job in a safe manner
Safety knowledge: an understanding of safe operating
procedures
- When safety motivation is low they (employees) are less likely to comply with safety
procedures (known as safety compliance)
oSafety Compliance: when people comply with procedures
Low levels are associated with more workplace accidents
- During a downsizing people are typically more concerned with productivity than
safety
oThese negative outcomes were not seen with job security in organizations
who viewed safety as important
Workplace Stress
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-Workplace Stress: the harmful physical and emotional responses that can happen
when there is a conflict between job demands of the employee and the amount of
control the employee has over meeting those demands
oNot all stress is harmful, moderate levels of stress may increase workplace
performance
- It is estimated that stress-related absences cost the Canadian economy more than
$4.5 billion a year
oEach dollar invested in the prevention of stress is worth about $3.40 in future
savings
- The experience or threat of a corporate takeover, merger, downsizing, or plant
closing, all of which could put employees out of jobs, can lead to a variety of
symptoms of stress
oSymptoms of stress are both mental and physical
- Stress may be associated with:
oCardiovascular disease
oMusculoskeletal disease, e.g. back injuries
oPsychological disorders, e.g. burnout and depression
oWorkplace injuries
oSuicide
oCancer
oUlcers
oImpaired Immune Functions
- Although there has been a lot of effort aimed at protecting employees from physical
harm at work, experts are now calling for greater attention to psychological safety at
work.
oThe purposes of the National Standard are to identify and eliminate hazards
in the workplace that pose a risk of psychological
Causes of Stress at Work
- Exposure to stressful working conditions (called “job stressors”) can directly
influence the health and safety of employees.
oThe model also recognizes that individual and situational factors can
intervene with the relationship between stressful job conditions and the risk
of injury or illness.
- Major Causes of Workplace Stress
oFactors Unique to the Job
Workload
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Work Place
Autonomy
Hours of work/shift
Physical environment
Isolation
oRole in the Organization
Role conflict/ ambiguity
Level of responsibility
oRelationships at Work
Supervisors/Co-Workers/Subordinates
Threat of violence, harassment, and so on
oOrganizational Climate
Participation in decision making
Communication Patterns
Management style
oCareer Development
Under-or over promotion
Job security
Career-development opportunities
Overall job satisfaction
-Stressors: Stressful working conditions that can directly influence the health and
safety of employees.
oAcute stressors: occur infrequently but are extremely stressful
oChronic Stressors: ongoing, daily problems and hassles that occur at work
- For highly stressed individuals, the main source of stress was:
oWork
Finance Workers who were mainly stressed about work tended to be
well-educated and have white-collar jobs
oFinances
Workers anxious about finances had lower incomes and less skilled
jobs
oTime
oFamily issues
Women are more likely to be stressed about family matters
- Respondents with poorer physical and mental health were more likely to be highly
stressed.
- Most stressful jobs: fire fighter, enlisted military personnel, military general, airline
pilot, and police officer.
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Document Summary
Chapter 12 ensuring health and safety at the workplace. Organizational level dimensions: management"s commitment to safety, human resource management practices, safety systems. Local work group dimensions: supervisor support for safety. Communication and support for safety issues within the group: boundary management. Quality of communication between the group and other stakeholders: risk, work pressure. The relationship between downsizing and employee safety is beginning to attract attention in light of the number of downsizings announced in recent years: downsizing creates job insecurity, which is associated with low levels of job satisfaction. Safety motivation: the motivation of an employee to perform a job in a safe manner. Safety knowledge: an understanding of safe operating procedures. When safety motivation is low they (employees) are less likely to comply with safety procedures (known as safety compliance: safety compliance: when people comply with procedures. Low levels are associated with more workplace accidents.
