978-0134235455 Chapter 16 Lecture Note

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

Part Five

Enrichment Topics in Human Resources Management

Chapter 16

Safety, Health, and Risk Management

Lecture Outline:

Introduction: Safety and the Manager

Why Safety Is Important

Improving Performance: HR as a Profit Center

Management’s Role in Safety

Improving Performance: The Strategic Context

The Supervisor’s role in Accident Prevention

Manger’s Briefing on Occupational Safety Law

OSHA Standards and Record Keeping

Inspections and Citations

Responsibilities and Rights of Employers and Employees

Improving Performance: HR Tools for Line Managers and Small Businesses

Trends Shaping HR: Digital and Social Media

What Causes Accidents?

What Causes Unsafe Conditions?

What Causes Unsafe Acts?

How to Prevent Accidents

Reducing Unsafe Conditions

Diversity Counts: Protecting Vulnerable Workers

Reducing Unsafe Acts

Reducing Unsafe Acts Through Screening

Reducing Unsafe Acts Through Training

Improving Performance Through HRIS: Online Safety Training

Reducing Unsafe Acts Through Posters, Incentives, and Positive Reinforcement

Improving Performance: HR as a Profit Center

Reducing Unsafe Acts by Fostering a Culture of Safety

Reducing Unsafe Acts by Creating a Supportive Environment

Reducing Unsafe Acts by Establishing a Safety Policy

Reducing Unsafe Acts by Setting Specific Loss Control Goals

Reducing Unsafe Acts Through Behavior-Based and Safety Awareness Programs

Reducing Unsafe Acts Through Employee Participation

Trends Shaping HR: Digital and Social Media

Conducting Safety and Health Audits and Inspections

Employee Engagement Guide for Managers

Milliken & Company—World-Class Safety Through Employee Engagement

Involvement-Based Employee Engagement

Chapter 16: Employee Safety and Health 16-2

Workplace Health Hazards: Problems and Remedies

Chemicals and Industrial Hygiene

Improving Performance: HR Practices Around the Globe

Know Your Employment Law: Hazard Communication

Asbestos Exposure at Work and Air Quality

Alcoholism and Substance Abuse

Stress, Burnout, and Depression

Solving Computer-Related Ergonomic Problems

Repetitive Motion Disorders

Infectious Diseases

Workplace Smoking

Occupational Security and Risk Management

Enterprise Risk Management

Preventing and Dealing with Violence at Work

Securing the Facility

Company Security and Employee Privacy

Business Continuity and Emergency Plans

Trends Shaping HR: Digital and Social Media

Twitter Notifications

Terrorism

Chapter Review

Where Are We Now..

The main purpose of this chapter is to provide you with knowledge managers need to reduce

workplace safety and health problems. The main topics we discuss are safety and the manager;

manager’s briefing on occupational safety law; what causes accidents; how to prevent accidents;

employee engagement based safety programs; workplace health hazards – problems and

remedies; and occupational security and risk management.

Interesting Issues:

When it comes to safety strategy, the explosion and fire on British Petroleum’s (BP’s)

Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico back in 2010 still stands out for what can go

wrong. The blast took the lives of 11 workers. Reports from the scene said a malfunctioning

blowout preventer failed to activate, causing the disaster. Past critics of BP’s safety practices

weren’t so sure.

Learning Objectives:

16-1: Explain the supervisor’s role in safety.

16-2: Explain the basic facts about safety law and OSHA.

Chapter 16: Employee Safety and Health 16-3

16-3: Answer the question, “What causes accidents?”

16-4: List and explain five ways to prevent accidents at work.

16-5: Describe how one company uses employee engagement to improve workplace safety.

16-6: List five workplace health hazards and how to deal with them.

16-7: Discuss the prerequisites for a security plan and how to set up a basic security program.

Annotated Outline:

I. Introduction: Safety and the Manager

A. Why Safety Is Important – safety and accident prevention concern managers for several

reasons, one of which is the staggering number of workplace accidents.

B. Improving Performance: HR as a Profit Center

C. Management’s Role in Safety – reducing accidents often boils down to reducing

accident-causing conditions and accident-causing acts. Most safety experts would agree

that safety should start at the top.

D. Improving Performance: The Strategic Context

E. The Supervisor’s Role in Accident Prevention – local supervisors are responsible for day-

to-day inspections. Daily inspections should be part of a supervisor’s routine.

II. Manger’s Briefing on Occupational Safety Law – Congress passed the Occupational Safety

and Health Act of 1970 “ to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the

nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.” This act

created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) within the Department of

Labor.

A. OSHA Standards and Record Keeping – under OSHA, employers with 11 or more

employees must maintain records of, and report occupational injuries and occupational

illnesses, which are any abnormal conditions or disorders caused by inhalation,

absorption, ingestion, or direct contact with toxic substances or harmful agents.

B. What The Employer Must Report – employers must report all occupational illnesses and

injuries, specifically those that result in medical treatment (other than first aid), loss of

consciousness, restriction of work, (one or more lost workdays), restrictions of motion, or

transfer to another job.

C. Inspections and Citations – are how OSHA enforces its standards. The agency has limited

funds so it tries to encourage cooperative safety programs as well.

1. The Inspection – it begins when the OSHA officer arrives at the workplace. He or

she displays credentials and asks to meet an employer’s representative. (The

credentials must include photograph and serial number). The OSHA inspector

looks for all types of violations, but some areas grab more attention. The five

most frequent OSHA inspection violations are: scaffolding, fall protection, hazard

communication, lockout/tagout (electrical disengagement), and respiratory

problems.

2. Penalties – OSHA can impose penalties. These generally range from $5000 up to

$150,000 for willful or repeat serious violations but can be far higher. In general,

OSHA calculates penalties based on the gravity of the violation and usually takes

Chapter 16: Employee Safety and Health 16-4

into consideration things like the size of the business, the firm’s compliance

history, and the employer’s good faith.

D. Responsibilities and Rights of Employers and Employees – employers are responsible for

providing a hazard-free workplace, being familiar with mandatory OSHA standards, and

examining workplace conditions to make sure they conform to applicable standards.

Employers have the right to seek advice and off-site consultation from OSHA, request

and receive proper identification of the OSHA compliance officer before inspection, and

be advised by the compliance officer of the reason for an inspection. OSHA can’t cite

employees for violations of their responsibilities. Employees are responsible for

complying with all applicable OSHA standards, for following all employer safety and

health rules and regulations, and for reporting hazardous conditions to the supervisor.

Employees have a right to demand safety and health on the job without fear of

punishment. The act forbids employers from punishing or discriminating against workers

who complain to OSHA about job safety and health hazards.

E. Improving Performance: HR Tools for Line Managers and Small Businesses

F. Trends Shaping HR: Digital and Social Media

III. What Causes Accidents? – there are three basic causes of workplace accidents: chance

occurrences, unsafe conditions, and employees’ unsafe acts.

A. What Causes Unsafe Conditions? – unsafe conditions are a main cause of

accidents such as improperly guarded equipment, defective equipment,

hazardous procedures around machines or equipment, unsafe storage,

improper illumination, and improper ventilation.

1. Safety Climate – work schedules and fatigue can affect

accident rate. The workplace “climate” or psychology is very

important. A strong pressure to complete the work as quickly

as possible, employees who are under stress, and poor safety

climate were some of the psychological conditions leading to

accidents.

B. What Causes Unsafe Acts? – unfortunately, there are no easy answers to the

question of what causes unsafe acts. The consensus is that accident proneness

is situational. Some accident repeaters are just unlucky, or they may be more

meticulous about reporting. Certain traits have been identified with accident

proneness. For example, people who are impulsive, sensation seeking,

extremely introverted, and less conscientious (in terms of being less fastidious

and dependable) have more accidents.

IV. How to Prevent Accidents

A. Reducing Unsafe Conditions – reducing unsafe conditions is always an employer’s first

line of defense. Safety engineers should design jobs to remove hazards, and supervisors

and managers should help identify and remove potential hazards.

1. Job Hazard Analysis – performing a job hazard analysis involves looking at the

situation and asking the following questions: What can go wrong? What are the

consequences? How could it happen? What are other contributing factors? The

job hazard analysis should provide the basis for creating countermeasures.

Chapter 16: Employee Safety and Health 16-5

2. Operational Safety Reviews – are conducted by agencies to ascertain whether

units under their jurisdiction are complying with all the applicable safety laws,

regulations, orders, and rules.

3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – protective gear should fit properly, be

easy to care for, maintain, and repair; be flexible and lightweight; provide comfort

and reduce heat stress; have rugged construction, be relatively easy to put on and

take off; and be easy to clean, dispose of, and recycle.

B. Diversity Counts – Protecting Vulnerable Workers – in designing safe and healthy

environments, employers should pay special attention to venerable workers, such as

young, immigrant, aging, and women workers.

C. Reducing Unsafe Acts – human misbehavior will short-circuit even the best safety

efforts. Sometimes misbehavior is intentional. Unfortunately, just telling employees to

“pay attention” isn’t enough, employers should identify and try to eliminate potential

risks, reduce potential distractions, and carefully screen and train employees.

D. Reducing Unsafe Acts through Screening – the basic aim is to identify the trait that might

predict accidents on the job in question, and then screen candidates for this trait. Studies

suggest that the Employee Reliability Inventory (ERI)—which measures reliability

dimensions such as emotional maturity, conscientiousness, safe job performance, job

simulation test, and physical capabilities—is also used.

E. Reducing Unsafe Acts through Training – training is especially appropriate for new

employees. You should instruct employees in safe practices and procedures, warn them

of potential hazards, and work on developing a safety-conscious attitude. OSHA’s

standards require more than training. Employees must demonstrate they actually learned

what to do. OSHA has published two booklets: “Training Requirements under OSHA”

and “Teaching Safety and Health in the Workplace.” The main aim is to impart the

knowledge and skills required to reduce accidents.

F. Improving Performance Through HRIS: Online Safety Training – many employers are

turning to the Web to support their safety and training programs.

G. Reducing Unsafe Acts through Posters, Incentives, and Positive Reinforcement – safety

posters are one, incentive programs are another, in which the emphasis is on non-

traditional incentive like recognition, which should be a part of the comprehensive safety

program.

H. Improving Performance: HR as a Profit Center: Using Positive Reinforcement – many

employers use positive reinforcement to improve safety. This segment discusses the

experience of a wholesale bakery. The firm set and communicated a reasonable goal;

trained the employees; then posted a graph with their pre-training safety record plotted

and a list of safety rules. Observers walked through collecting safety data to provide

workers with feedback on their safety performance as a form of positive reinforcement.

I. Reducing Unsafe Acts by Fostering a Culture of Safety – employers and supervisors

should create a safety-conscious culture by showing that they take safety seriously. A

workplace with a safety-oriented culture exhibits the following: teamwork,

communication and collaboration, shared vision, assignment, continuous effort, and

encouragement.

J. Reducing Unsafe Acts by Creating a Supportive Environment – “Organizations can

develop a supportive environment by training supervisors to be better leaders,

Chapter 16: Employee Safety and Health 16-6

emphasizing the importance of teamwork and social support, and establishing the value

of safety.”

K. Reducing Unsafe Acts by Establishing a Safety Policy – the company’s written safety

policy should emphasize that accident prevention is of the utmost importance at your

firm, and that the firm will do everything practical to illuminate or reduce accidents and

injuries.

L. Reducing Unsafe Acts by Setting Specific Loss Control Goals – set specific safety goals

to achieve. For example, set safety goals in terms of frequency of loss-time injuries per

number of full-time employees.

M. Reducing Unsafe Acts through Behavior-Based and Safety Awareness Programs – this

involves identifying the worker behaviors that contribute to accidents and then training

workers to avoid these behaviors.

N. Reducing Unsafe Acts through Employee Participation – there are at least two reasons to

get the employees involved in designing the safety program. First, those actually doing

the jobs are often management’s best source of ideas about what the potential problems

are and how to solve them. Second, it is generally easier to get employees to accept and

enthusiastically follow the safety program when they’ve had a hand in designing it.

O. Trends Shaping HR: Digital and Social Media

P. Conducting Safety and Health Audits and Inspections – managers should inspect all

premises for possible safety and health problems, using checklists as aids. All accidents

and near misses should be investigated. A system should be in place for employees to

notify management about hazardous conditions.

V. Employee Engagement Guide for Managers

A. Milliken & Company—World class Safety Through Employee Engagement – founded in

1865 and is privately owned. It is the only company to consistently rank as a “most

ethical company” for 15 years running. A survey of the employees found an 80%

positive engagement level, based on questions concerning employees’ commitment, pride

in the company, and empowerment efforts. Its extraordinary low workplace illness and

injury rates means it consistently rates as one of the safest companies in which to work.

B. Involvement-Based Employee Engagement – this is the centerpiece of Milliken’s safety

program. Employees staff the safety steering and safety subcommittee system, who then

submit “opportunity for improvement” suggestions weekly, review each suggestion, and

provide feedback on every suggestion.

VI. Workplace Health Hazards: Problems and Remedies

A. Chemicals and Industrial Hygiene – first, the facility’s health and safety officers must

recognize possible exposure hazards. The evaluation phase involves determining how

severe the hazard is. Finally, the hazard control phase involves taking steps to eliminate

or reduce the hazard so that it no longer ranks as dangerous.

B. Improving Performance: HR Practices Around the Globe

C. Know Your Employment Law – Hazard Communication

D. Asbestos Exposure at Work and Air Quality – there are four major sources of

occupational respiratory diseases: asbestos, silica, lead, and carbon dioxide. Of these,

asbestos has become a major concern. Air Quality –“Green” office buildings produce

illnesses such as itchy eyes and troubled breathing. The solution is to monitor the air

Chapter 16: Employee Safety and Health 16-7

quality whenever they expect the level of asbestos to rise to one-half the allowable limit

(0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter).

E. Alcoholism and Substance Abuse – about two-thirds of people with an alcohol disorder

work full-time. Some estimate that almost 13 million workers use drugs illicitly.

Alcoholism may cost U.S. employers about $226 billion per year in higher absenteeism

and accidents. For many employers, dealing with substance abuse begins with substance

abuse testing. Drug-free workplace programs include five components: 1) A drug-free

workplace policy, 2) Supervisor Training, 3) Employee Education, 4) Employee

Assistance, and 5) Drug Testing.

F. Stress, Burnout, and Depression – can sometimes lead to alcoholism and drug abuse,

which are problematic for both the employee and employer. A variety of external

workplace factors can lead to job stress. Personal factors also influence stress – no two

people react to the same job in the very same way. Human consequences of stress

include anxiety, depression, anger, and various physical consequences. Organizational

consequences include reductions in the quantity and quality of job performance,

increased absenteeism and turnover, increased grievances, and increased health care

costs. Stress is not necessarily dysfunctional; it can lead some people to be more

productive and/or creative.

1. Reducing Job Stress – employees can reduce stress by getting more sleep, eating

better, and negotiating with managers for realistic deadlines on important projects.

The three-step stress-reduction technique involves developing awareness,

adjusting attitudes, and taking action. The HR department can take a positive role

in reducing stress.

2. What The Employer Can Do – supportive supervisors and fair treatment are

important. Reducing personal conflicts on the job and encouraging open

communication between management and employees can help. Some employers

use “resilience training” to help employees deal with stress.

3. Burnout – is the total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by

excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal. Some suggestions for

alleviating burnout include breaking your patterns; getting away from it all

periodically; reassessing your goals in terms of their intrinsic worth; and thinking

about your work.

4. Employee Depression – organizations must ensure that depressed employees use

available support services. Employers need to train supervisors to identify

depression’s warning signs and to counsel those who may need such services to

use the firm’s employee assistance program. Depression is a disease.

G. Solving Computer-Related Ergonomic Problems – short-term eye problems (like burning,

itching, tearing, eyestrain, and eye soreness), backaches, and neck-aches are common

complaints among video display operators. The National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health (NIOSH) has several recommendations for reducing these problems.

H. Repetitive Motion Disorders – such disorders include carpal tunnel syndrome and

tendonitis. Employees can reduce the issue if the pace of work is altered.

I. Infectious Diseases – with many employees traveling to and from international

destinations, monitoring and controlling infectious diseases like H1N1, Ebola, and SARS

has become an important safety issue. Obviously, employers must make provisions for

ensuring that a returning employee does not inadvertently infect one or more colleagues.

Chapter 16: Employee Safety and Health 16-8

Employers can take a number of steps to prevent the entry or spread of infectious diseases

into their workplaces. These steps include:

1. Closely monitor the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) travel

alerts. Access this information at www.cdc.gov.

2. Provide daily medical screenings for employees returning from infected areas.

3. Deny access for 10 days to employees or visitors who have had contact with

suspected infected individuals.

4. Tell employees to stay home if they have a fever or respiratory system symptoms.

5. Clean work areas and surfaces regularly. Make sanitizers containing alcohol

easily available.

6. Stagger breaks. Offer several lunch periods to reduce overcrowding.

G. Workplace Smoking – the nature of the problem is serious for employees and employers.

Smokers have significantly greater risk of occupational accidents and higher absenteeism

rates than nonsmokers. Smokers increase the cost of health and fire insurance.

VI. Occupational Security and Risk Management – workplace security relates to protecting

employees from internal and external surety risks.

A. Enterprise Risk Management – is “the process of assessing exposures to loss within an

operation and determining how best to eliminate, manage, or otherwise reduce the risk of

an adverse event from having a negative impact on the business.” Companies face a

variety of risks, only some of which are direct risks to employees’ health and safety.

Specific risks include, for instance, natural disaster risks, financial risks, and risks to the

firm’s computer systems. Human capital risks would rank high. These include safety

risks like those we discussed in this chapter as well as, for instance, risks from

unionization and from inadequate staffing plans.

B. Preventing and Dealing with Violence at Work – violence against employees is one such

internal preventable enterprise risk, and a huge problem. Human Resources can take

several steps to reduce workplace violence risk which include the following: heighten

security measures, improve employee screening, use workplace violence training, use

guidelines for firing a high-risk employee, and awareness of violence toward women at

work.

C. Securing the Facility – in simplest terms, instituting a basic security program requires

four steps: analyzing the current level of risk, and then installing mechanical, natural, and

organizational security systems.

D. Company Security and Employee Privacy – employers must consider employee privacy

when using monitoring to investigate possible employee security breaches. Security

programs often entail monitoring employee communications and workplace activities.

E. Business Continuity and Emergence Plans – the possibility of emergencies prompted by

fires, attacks, and similar issues means that employers need facility continuity and

emergency plans. One source estimates that 40% of companies never reopen after

suffering business disruptions from a major catastrophe, so putting a disaster plan in

place is imperative. Such plans should cover early detection of a problem, methods for

communicating the emergency externally, and communications plans for initiating an

evacuation.

F. Trends Shaping HR: Digital and Social Media – Twitter notifications.

Chapter 16: Employee Safety and Health 16-9

G. Terrorism – the employer can take several steps to protect its employees and physical

assets from a terrorist attack. These steps, now familiar at many workplaces, include:

1. Screen the identities of everyone entering the premises.

2. Check mail carefully.

3. Identify ahead of time a lean “crisis organization” that can run the company on an

interim basis after a terrorist threat.

4. Identify in advance under what conditions you will close the company down, as

well as the shutdown process.

5. Institute a process to put the crisis management team together.

6. Prepare evacuation plans and make sure exits are well marked and unblocked.

7. Designate an employee who will communicate with families and off-site

employees.

8. Identify an upwind, off-site location near your facility to use as a staging area for

all evacuated personnel.

9. Designate in advance several employees who will do headcounts at the evacuation

staging area.

10. Establish an emergency text-messaging policy and procedure to notify affected

individuals that an emergency may exist.

Chapter Review

Chapter Section Summaries:

16-1: The subject safety and the manager concerns managers for several reasons, one of

which is the number of workplace accidents.

16-2: All managers need to be familiar with occupational safety laws.

16-3: There are three basic causes of workplace accidents: chance occurrences, unsafe

conditions, and employees’ unsafe acts.

16-4: In practice, how to prevent accidents boils down to reducing unsafe conditions and

reducing unsafe acts.

16-5: The centerpiece of Milliken’s safety process is its involvement-based employee

engagement program.

16-6: Most workplace health hazards aren’t obvious, like unguarded equipment.

16-7: Most employers today have occupational security and risk management programs.

Discussion Questions:

16-1: Explain how to reduce the occurrence of unsafe acts on the part of your employees.

This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student

responses will vary.

16-2: Explain the supervisor’s role in safety.