2. Chapter 13: Employee Safety and Health Lecturer:
Human Resource Management, Arab World Edition Gary Dessler, Akram Al Ariss
Chapter 13: Employee Safety and Health
Lecturer:

3. After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Explain why safety at work is important.
Explain top management’s role in safety.
Understand what causes accidents and how to prevent them.
Minimize unsafe acts by employees.
Explain how to deal with important occupational health problems.

4. Why Safety Is Important
There is a staggering number of work-related accidents.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) reports that in 2005:
2.2 million workers were killed in work accidents/diseases.
The Arab world had 139,000 work-related deaths.
Occupational fatality rates vary as follows:
5.3 per 100,000 workers per year in developed countries
22.5 per 100,000 workers per year in the Middle East
23.1 per 100,000 workers per year in parts of Asia
Injuries are a problem even in non-traditional jobs.
Yet, employers continue to be lax about workplace safety.

5. ILO Occupational Safety and Health In Arab Countries
International Labor Organization Occupational Safety and Health (ILO-OSH) guidelines are not applied in most Arab countries.
Many Arab national laws conflict with ILO-OSH laws.
Strata, a company in the U.A.E., conforms to ILO-OSH with:
An environment management plan
A health and safety management plan
An operational health and safety management plan
A risk register and control measures for the complete elimination of risk

6. FIGURE 13-1
Comparison of Local Labor and OSH Legislation in Selected Arab Countries
Source: Rima R. Habib, “Overview of the Occupational Safety and Health Situation in the Arab Region,” A study prepared for discussion at the Inter-Regional Tripartite Meeting on Occupational Safety and Health, Damascus, November 18–20, 2007, from accessed October 10, 2011.

7. FIGURE 13-2 Example of OSH Laws in Algeria and Bahrain
Source: Rima R. Habib, “Overview of the Occupational Safety and Health Situation in the Arab Region,” A study prepared for discussion at the Inter-Regional Tripartite Meeting on Occupational Safety and Health, Damascus, November 18–20, 2007, from accessed October 10, 2011. 7 7 7

8. Top Management’s Role In Safety
Workplace safety starts with top management commitment.
DuPont is an example of such organizational commitment.
Top management should:
Be personally involved in workplace safety
Give safety matters high priority in all activities
Have a dedicated and powerful safety officer
Include safety in new workers’ training
Institutionalize a safety policy and publicize it
Analyze accidents and safety incidents for goal-setting

9. Employees’ Unsafe Acts Basic Causes of Accidents
What Causes Accidents?
Chance Occurrences
Employees’ Unsafe Acts
Basic Causes of Accidents
Unsafe Conditions

10. What Causes Unsafe Conditions?
Improperly guarded equipment
Defective equipment
Hazardous procedures in, on, or around machines or equipment
Unsafe storage – congestion, overloading
Improper illumination – glare, insufficient light
Improper ventilation – insufficient air change, impure air source

11. Mechanical or Physical Accident-Causing Conditions
FIGURE Checklist of
Mechanical or Physical
Accident-Causing Conditions
Source: American Insurance Association. From “A Safety Committee Man’s Guide,” pp. 1–64. 11 11 11 11 11

12. FIGURE 13-4 Fire Safety Checklist
Source: “Monthly Fire Safety Inspection,” HSMC, from Safety%20Inspection.doc, accessed October 10, 2011. 12 12 12 12 12 12

13. FIGURE 13-5 Safety Material Presented on Bolts & Tools Center Website
Source: accessed December 15, 2011. 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

14. What Causes Unsafe Acts?
People with specific traits may be accident-prone.
These include the impulsive, extroverted, and less thorough.
Being accident-prone in one job may not apply elsewhere. 14

15. What Causes Accidents? (cont)
Improperly Guarded Equipment
Defective Equipment
Improper Ventilation
Improper Illumination
Hazardous Procedures
Unsafe Storage
Unsafe Conditions

16. How to Prevent Accidents
Reduce unsafe conditions and encourage the use of personal protective equipment.
Emphasize and ensure safety and healthy work environment.
Screen and select safety-minded employees.
Provide safety training for all employees.
Use posters, incentive programs, and positive reinforcement to motivate employees.
Use behavior-based safety.
Use employee participation to get ideas for problem-solving.
Conduct safety and health audits and inspections.
Use high-performance work systems for occupational safety.

17. FIGURE 13-6 Employee Safety Responsibilities Checklist
Source: Reprinted from Business and Legal Reports, Inc., 141 Mill Rock Road East, Old Saybrook, CT © 2004. 17 17 17 17 17 17

18. High-Performance Work Systems
Employment security
Selective hiring
Extensive training
Self-managed teams
Decentralized decision-making
Reduced status distinctions
Information sharing
Contingent rewards
Transformational leadership
Measurement of leadership practices
Emphasis on high-quality work

19. BOX 13-1 Reducing Unsafe Conditions and Acts: A Summary
Reduce Unsafe Conditions
Identify and eliminate unsafe conditions.
Use administrative means, such as job rotation.
Use personal protective equipment.
Reduce Unsafe Acts
Emphasize top management commitment.
Emphasize safety.
Establish a safety policy.
Reduce unsafe acts through selection.
Provide safety training.
Use posters and other propaganda.
Use positive reinforcement.
Use behavior-based safety programs.
Encourage worker participation.
Conduct safety and health inspections regularly. 19 19 19 19 19 19 19

20. Controlling Workers’ Compensation Costs
Before the Accident
The employer should control workers’ compensation claims even before an accident occurs by taking adequate safety measures (as previously discussed).
After the Accident
Be proactive in providing first aid, and make sure the worker gets quick medical attention.
Make it clear that you are interested in the injured worker and his or her fears and questions.
Document the accident and file required reports.
Encourage a speedy return to work by the employee.

21. Workplace Health Hazards
Chemicals and other hazardous materials
Excessive noise and vibrations
Temperature extremes
Biohazards, both normally occurring and man-made
Ergonomic hazards of poorly designed equipment that forces workers to do jobs while contorted in unnatural positions
Safety-related hazards, e.g. slippery floors and blocked passageways

22. Workplace Health Hazards: Remedies
The Basic Industrial Hygiene Program
Recognition: Identification of a possible hazard
Evaluation: Assessing the severity of the hazard
Control: Elimination or reduction of the hazard

23. Infectious Diseases
Increased international travel has made this a safety issue.
Steps for prevention and spread of infectious diseases:
Closely monitor travel alerts.
Provide daily medical screenings for returning employees.
Deny returning employees access to facility for 10 days.
Advise employees to stay at home if they have a fever.
Clean work areas and surfaces regularly.
Stagger lunch breaks to reduce overcrowding.
Emphasize the importance of frequent hand-washing.

24. Reducing Job Stress: Personal
Build rewarding, pleasant, and cooperative relationships.
Do not bite off more than you can chew.
Build an effective and supportive relationship with your boss.
Negotiate with your boss for realistic deadlines on projects.
Learn as much as you can about upcoming events and get as much lead time as you can to prepare for them.
Find time every day for detachment and relaxation.

25. Reducing Job Stress: Personal (cont)
Take a walk to keep your body refreshed and alert.
Find ways to reduce unnecessary noise.
Reduce trivia in your job – delegate routine work.
Limit interruptions to your work.
Don’t put off dealing with distasteful problems.
Make a ‘worry list’ that includes solutions for each problem.

26. Reducing Job Stress: Organizational
Provide supportive supervisors.
Ensure fair treatment for all employees.
Reduce personal conflicts on the job.
Have open communication between management and employees.
Support employees’ efforts, for instance, by regularly asking how they are doing.
Ensure effective job–person fit, since a mistake can trigger stress.
Give employees more control over their jobs.
Provide employee assistance programs, including professional counseling.

27. Burnout
Burnout
The total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal.
Recovering from burnout:
Break the usual patterns to achieve a more well-rounded life.
Get away from it all periodically to think alone.
Re-assess goals in terms of intrinsic worth and attainability.
Think about work: could the job be done without being so intense?

28. Other Safety and Health Issues
Computer-Related Health Problems
Short-term eye burning
Itching and tearing
Eye-strain and eye soreness
Backaches and neck aches

29. General Recommendations for the Use of Computer Screens
Give employees rest breaks.
Design maximum flexibility into the work station.
Reduce glare by using devices such as window shades.
Give workers a complete replacement vision exam.
Allow the user to position wrists at the same level as elbows.
Put the screen at or just below eye level, 18–30 inches away.
Let the wrists rest lightly on a pad for support.
Put the feet flat on the floor, or on a footrest.

30. Workplace Smoking Costs Higher health and fire insurance costs
Increased absenteeism
Reduced productivity
Second-hand smoke
Remedies
Ban smoking in the workplace.
This depends on legislation or policies.
Many Gulf countries now ban indoor smoking.

31. Violence at Work Steps to Reduce Workplace Violence:
Institute heightened security measures.
Improve employee screening.
Provide workplace violence training.
Provide organizational justice.
Take care when dismissing violent employees.
Deal promptly with angry employees.

32. Occupational Security and Safety
Basic Prerequisites for a Security Plan
Company philosophy and policy on crime
Investigations of job applicants
Security awareness training
Crisis management
Setting Up a Basic Security Program
Analyze the current level of risk.
Install natural, mechanical, and organizational security systems.

33. Evacuation Plans Evacuation contingency plans should contain:
Methods for early detection of a problem
Methods for communicating the emergency externally
Communications plans for initiating an evacuation
Announcements providing specific information about the emergency and advising of the subsequent course of action

34. Company Security and Employee Privacy
Security programs could involve monitoring of employee communication and workplace activity.
This could be construed as a violation of employee privacy.
Employers should get employees’ express consent for monitoring them.
In any case, the employer should not give the perception of monitoring the employee’s personal life.

35. FIGURE 13-7 A Health and Safety Checklist
Source: Adapted from accessed August 2011. 35 35

36. FIGURE 13-8 HR Scorecard for KAMCO: Employee Safety and Health
Source: Prepared by Dr. Dmytro Roman Kulchitsky, Ph.D., the American University of Kuwait. 36

37. Key Terms behavior-based safety burnout mechanical security
natural security
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
organizational security
unsafe conditions