Occupational Health and Safety

 Occupational health and safety (OHS) is a broad discipline that focuses on preventing hazards, injuries, and illnesses in the workplace. It also includes regulations and training to promote the physical, mental, and social well-being of workers. OSH programs prioritize risk assessment, hazard control, and employee engagement.

As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) "occupational health deals with all aspects of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards." Health has been defined as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Occupational health is a multidisciplinary field of healthcare concerned with enabling an individual to undertake their occupation, in the way that causes least harm to their health. It contrasts, for example, with the promotion of health and safety at work, which is concerned with preventing harm from any incidental hazards, arising in the workplace. 

OHS is important for businesses because research shows that workplace safety and well-being lead to profitability. For example, injuries and illnesses can lead to lost productivity, higher turnover, and more expensive employer-subsidized health insurance premiums. 

What is the main purpose of occupational safety?

‍Occupational safety and health (OSH) programs are designed to promote a wholesome and secure workplace. Additionally, consumers, family members, employers, and coworkers who may be impacted by the workplace environment may be safeguarded by occupational safety.

Occupational health is preoccupied with three distinct objectives:

(i) the promotion and preservation of the health and labor capacity of employees;

(ii) the enhancement of the working environment and tasks to promote health and safety and

(iii) The advancement of work organizations and cultures in a manner that promotes health and safety on the job, thereby fostering a positive social climate, efficient operations, and potentially increased productivity of the enterprises.

Who are the professionals of occupational safety?

Occupational health professionals encompass various fields and professions such as medicine, psychology, epidemiology, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, occupational therapy, occupational medicine, human factors, ergonomics, and more. Experts provide guidance on a wide array of issues related to occupational health. These factors encompass strategies to prevent specific pre-existing conditions from affecting one's ability to perform the job, maintaining proper posture during work, determining the frequency of rest intervals, implementing preventive measures, and other related considerations.

Why is occupational safety so important?

1) Every business has safety risks

Occupational safety encompasses the entirety of physical, mental, and social well-being and security within a work environment. The company's umbrella initiative aims to mitigate injuries and hazards across all work situations. Each sector poses a multitude of safety hazards for its employees. The range of potential workplace safety concerns spans from acute and immediate physical perils to less severe hazards.

Immediate causes of workplace hazards include fires, explosions, chemical hazards, and other similar dangers that pose an immediate risk to an employee's life. Less severe risks encompass difficulties related to ergonomics, work demands, cognitive abilities, and overall employee welfare. These types of dangers frequently occur in a workplace setting. Regardless of the nature of your business, there is always the potential for an accident to occur involving someone.

2) Well-maintained occupational safety saves money

The most significant and immeasurable expense of a safety failure may be of a personal kind. The loss of a limb or extensive mental rehabilitation might compel an individual to embrace an entirely new way of life and even redefine their sense of self. It is challenging to determine the monetary value of such situations. Fatal injuries, resulting in the death of individuals while doing their duties, are undoubtedly impossible to measure in economic terms. In addition to the individual who is being killed, there are multiple other primary stakeholders, including family and friends, coworkers, and other affected parties.


Another significant detriment to a corporation arises from diminished work morale and heightened personnel turnover. Individuals desire to experience a sense of security. It is not unexpected for employees' work morale to deteriorate when they witness a coworker falling from a lifting track due to insufficient safety measures. Typically, the most exceptional individuals are the ones who depart initially.

3) Occupational safety creates new opportunities

Rather than perceiving occupational safety solely as a matter of hazards and expenses that need to be managed and reduced, an alternative perspective is to regard it as a potential opportunity that has yet to be fully explored.
An illustration of this can be found in the narrative of Alcoa. The maker of aluminium products is renowned for its recognition of the significance of occupational safety and its demonstration of how investing in it can have a positive impact on corporate revenues. Upon assuming the role of CEO at Alcoa, Paul O'Neill declared his intention to establish the firm as the preeminent leader in terms of safety inside the United States. Rather than solely seeking records of past injuries and deaths, he desired staff to provide suggestions and ideas for enhancing safety. Consequently, this transformation had a profound impact on the overall corporate culture, prompting people to actively contribute their further suggestions for improvement. Alcoa experienced a significant boost in its profits as a result of implementing suggestions generated by its employees. In addition to that, they also acquired the ability to adjust and derive knowledge from failure, thereby improving their methodologies.

4) Occupational safety affects the company reputation and productivity

Companies of many types and across all industries should thoroughly assess their occupational safety measures. It is essential for a corporation to adapt and learn from failure in order to enhance processes in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world.

The aforementioned explanations suffice to necessitate a potential alteration at a company. In the present time, individuals have the ability to share their negative encounters with management on their social media profiles or write a review about the company on Glassdoor.com. It is undesirable for any company to have a potential future employee come across online information indicating that the organization is not prioritizing occupational safety. It could soon result in a scenario where the HR department receives a diminishing number of applications from highly qualified people.

Companies, regardless of their size, are greatly concerned about even the slightest negligence in ensuring the health and safety of their personnel. However, the primary source of concern should not be derived from complaints on social media. The motivation to invest in occupational safety should stem from a genuine concern for the safety and well-being of employees, which in turn contributes to the productivity and growth of the organization. This can also be transformed into a significant advantage in enhancing employee retention and recruiting top talent.

Reference

P. (2024, March 19). Occupational safety. Peoplehum. https://www.peoplehum.com/glossary/occupational-safety

Occupational Safety and Health. (2023, December 15). https://www.ioe-emp.org/policy-priorities/occupational-safety-and-health

Occupational health. (2019, September 17). https://www.who.int/health-topics/occupational-health

[online] [Accessed 01 April 2024]