CHAPTER 12
Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Identify and discuss the central elements associated with employee safety and health.
Chapter Outline
Opening Case: A Disturbance in the Work Force
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the incidence of workplace violence has actually
been trending down over the past few years, in part because employers have paid more attention
to the problem and taken successful preventative measures. More and more companies, for
Introduction
This chapter is about ways in which organizations and human resource (HR) managers can make
the workplace environment safe and healthy.
I. Employee Safety and Health
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
Safety hazards are those conditions in the work environment that have the potential to cause
A. Common Workplace Hazards and Threats
One major category of factors that can cause accidents in the workplace is the characteristics
of the physical environment. At a general level, of course, of course, accidents can happen
anywhere. But in manufacturing settings, several specific conditions of the work environment
Some personal actions of individual employees also present common workplace hazards.
Among the more frequently described and identified personal actions that lead to accidents
are taking unnecessary risks, failing to wear protective equipment such as goggles or gloves,
using improper tools and equipment for specific jobs, taking unsafe shortcuts, and simply
engaging in foolish horseplay.
The U.S. Department of Labor has identified seven major categories of occupational illnesses:
• Occupational skin diseases or disorders
• Dust disease of the lungs
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
B. Organizations and OSHA
Widespread concern about employee safety and health led to the passage in 1970 of the most
comprehensive law regarding worker safety. This act is technically known as the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 but is most frequently referred to by its initials:
OSHA.
In concert with the Department of Labor, the Department of Health was also given the task of
sponsoring research to establish the criteria for various tasks and occupations and for training
employees to comply with the act. Most of this work is conducted by an agency within the
Department of Health called the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH); that is, NIOSH conducts research to help establish appropriate safety and health
criteria. A sample of the guidelines developed from this work is shown in Table 12.2.
To ensure compliance with OSHA, inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor visit places
of employment either randomly or by invitation from an employer, an employee, or a union.
An employer can be fined $10,000 per violation for willful or repeated major violations. In
addition, company officials may be personally fined for failure to comply with OSHA
regulations and can conceivably be sentenced to jail time.
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
C. Controlling Accidents at Work
Safety engineers are experts who carefully study the workplace, try to identify and isolate
particularly dangerous situations, and recommend solutions for dealing with those situations.
In addition, organizations can sometimes help control workplace accidents by providing
Employees should be taught the safest work procedures that the organization can identify, and
they should be taught to follow safe work procedures and report unsafe conditions to
managers. Finally, providing safety incentives and behavior modification training to
employees has also been found effective in reducing the number of accidents on the job.
D. Controlling Occupational Diseases
The effects of occupational diseases are often observable only after extended periods of time,
so it may be difficult for the organization to know if its disease-prevention efforts are
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
II. The Physical Environment
The actual physical environment in which an employee works is also extremely important and
obviously can affect safety, health, and well-being.
A. Hours of Work
There are some trends toward nontraditional workweeks as techniques to enhance
performance; however, the hours worked and how they are distributed can also affect
employee safety and well-being. For example, 4 days on, 3 days off a week may be attractive
In many industries, the problem of shift work presents another challenge to managing the
work environment effectively. All human beings are subject to circadian rhythms, which
tells one’s body when to eat or sleep. When employees work a night shift, their bodies must
B. Illumination, Temperature, Office and Work Space Design
Considerable evidence shows that extremes of temperature (in either direction) can affect both
attitudes and decision making on the job. It has even been suggested that ambient temperature
helps explain national differences in stress on the job. Research has also shown that different
tasks require different levels of optimal lighting and that employees who perceive their work
environments as dark are generally less satisfied with their jobs.
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
III. Stress and Stress Management at Work
HR in the 21st Century: Is Anybody in Control Here?
The jobs of Airline pilots and air traffic controllers are extremely stressful. The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) mandates retirement ages for both. Pilots, however, can stay on the job
until they are sixty-five, while controllers must in most cases call it quits at age fifty-six. Why?
Because being an air traffic controller, it seems, is considered by the FAA as more stressful than
being a pilot.
Then, there’s the weather. Controllers record weather data every hour and have to be constantly
aware of changing conditions. At present, there are about 15,000 fully trained air traffic
A. Causes of Stress at Work
Stress is a person’s adaptive response to a stimulus that places excessive psychological or
physical demands on him or her. The stimuli that cause stress are called stressors.
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
Physical demands relate to job setting. Many of the physical aspects of the work environment
such as working in extreme temperatures, have been associated with stress on the job. Also,
Another set of organizational stressors consists of three interpersonal demands.
• Group pressures include pressure to restrict output, pressure to conform to the group’s
norms, and so forth.
Table 12.3 provides a subjective list of the most and least stressful jobs.
B. Differences in How One Experiences Stress
Regardless of the stressors present on any job, different individuals will experience the stress
differently. One factor that is important is personality. Some years ago, a group of medical
researchers noticed that patient with certain personality characteristics were more likely to
suffer early heart attacks.
• They identified these patients as having a Type A personality.
o They are highly competitive, highly focused on their work, and have few interests
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
C. Consequences of Stress at Work
Stress can lead to several positive and negative consequences. Individual consequences are as
follows:
• Behavioral consequences of stress are responses that may harm the person under stress
or others.
Clearly, any of the individual consequences can also affect the organization, but other
consequences of stress have even more direct consequences for organizations.
• One clear organizational consequence of too much stress is a decline in performance.
o For operating workers, such a decline can translate into poor-quality work or a
drop in productivity.
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
Other consequences of stress include various dysfunctional behaviors that detract from, rather
than contribute to, organization performance. Two of the more common are absenteeism and
turnover. Turnover occurs when people quit their jobs.
D. Wellness Programs in Organizations
Two basic organizational strategies for helping employees manage stress are institutional
programs and collateral stress programs. Institutional programs for managing stress are
In addition, to their institutional efforts aimed at reducing stress, many organizations are
turning to collateral stress programs, or programs created specifically to help employees
deal with stress. Organizations have adopted stress-management programs, health-promotion
programs, and other kinds of programs for this purpose.
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
E. Other Interventions
In 2009, while unemployment inched closer to 10 percent and major banks disappeared from
existence (both causing significant stress), Americans began concerning themselves with a
For the past 25 years or so, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become a
major problem in the world in general—and at work. Individuals who publicly disclose their
condition increase the potential for retaliation from coworkers: Many people fear the disease
and may shun those who have it. And the organization faces various privacy-related issues.
In general, organizations can adopt three strategies in trying to deal with AIDS from a
management perspective. One strategy is to categorize AIDS under a comprehensive life-
threatening-illness policy. In this instance, AIDS is treated like terminal cancer or any other
life-threatening illness. The organization can then apply the same sorts of insurance coverage
provisions, early retirement and leave provisions, and so forth.
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
The third approach that some companies is to have no AIDS policy at all, an approach taken
by far too many companies. In any of these events, managerial ignorance can potentially
result in serious problems for both the employer and employees.
IV. Workplace Security
The need to live in a safe and secure environment is a basic driver of human behavior. But
security can be threatened (or guaranteed) in many different ways at work. Even individuals
working on relatively dangerous jobs, however, can feel more secure if the organization (or
someone else) is concerned about their safety. On the other hand, announcements about
impending or actual layoffs are likely to increase feelings of insecurity concerning employees.
A different type of security issue has become much more salient to employees in the United
States since September 11, 2001. The threat of bombings or kidnappings is not new to the world,
but Americans have traditionally felt these concerns only when they were travelling abroad, not
when they were at their jobs. Concerns over security have also made many Americans less
willing to travel abroad—especially to the areas that are potentially dangerous.
Closing Case: Success and Stress
Case Summary
Twenty-one-year old Anurag Verma has one of those jobs that tend to come up in conversations
when Americans are talking about U.S. unemployment: He works in India’s business process
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) found that one in twenty workers regularly considered
suicide and classified 36 percent as “probable psychiatric cases.”
There are also physiological repercussions. Women, for instance, suffer from menstrual and
hormonal disorders when disrupted sleep patterns create imbalances in melatonin and cortisol,
two hormones related to sleep and stress. Research shows that women who work nights have a 6
percent higher risk of breast cancer.
Case Questions
1. What similarities and differences likely exist between the jobs described here and business
process jobs in the United States?
Students’ answers to the given question might vary. The similarity could be that both the
2. What steps might you take to avoid these kinds of problems in your own career?
Students’ answers to the given question might vary. Individuals can take a number of steps
of avoid these kinds of problems in their career. For instance, they could take up working
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
The following items appear on the in-text Instructor Prep Cards. These notes and
suggested talking points should help instructors conduct these exercises with the students.
Discussion Questions
1. What are the differences between safety hazards and health hazards?
Safety hazards refer to those things in the work environment that have the potential to
2. Review the list of injury-prone jobs and dangerous occupations in Table 12.2. Identify five
other jobs that you think might also belong on each list.
3. Research the OSHA guidelines and regulations that most directly relate to your current or
anticipated job.
4. Would you prefer a job that required you to work relatively long hours but provided
relatively more days off from work each week or a job that required relatively fewer hours
per day but also provided relatively fewer days off? Why?
Students’ answers will vary on the basis of student opinions. Encourage students to
5. Describe the kind of physical environment in which you would like to work.
Students’ answers will vary. A distinction should be made between pecuniary and
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
6. What are the primary causes and consequences of stress in organizations?
Stress is a person’s adaptive response to stimuli or stressors that place excessive
psychological or physical demands on him or her. Here are some recognized stressors.
• Task demands are stressors that are associated with specific jobs, such as those of
surgeons and air traffic controllers. Job security and work overload are other
Stress can cause individual consequences such as the following:
An organizational consequence of stress is a decline in performance.
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
7. What are the primary stressors that affect you now? How do you respond to stress?
8. Identify people you know who respond differently to stress? What seems to be the basis for
their differences?
9. Would the presence of an on-site wellness center influence your decision to work for a
particular organization?
Students’ answers to this question will vary. Students can be encouraged to discuss why
10. In general, increased security seems to come at the expense of personal freedom. In you
opinion, is this a reasonable trade-off?
Students’ answers to this question will vary. Students can be encouraged to discuss how
Ethical Dilemmas in HR Management
Scenario Summary
Students should assume that they are the owner/manager of a software company in a race to
develop valuable software that will make senior employees millionaires. All the employees have
stock options, and if the student wins the race, even the most junior employees will realize a
Questions
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
1. What are the ethical issues in this situation?
The largest issue is whether one should trade the health of one’s employees for additional
2. What are the basic arguments for and against continuing an all-out push to achieve the
breakthrough?
The biggest advantage of the all-out push is the income that all the workers will share,
although in different amounts. Furthermore, the employees have already sacrificed a great
3. What do you think most owners and managers would do? What would you do?
Students’ answers will vary. One factor that would impact the decision is the time horizon
of the owner. If the owner views the life of the firm as short term, it is likely the push will
Assignment
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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security
This exercise is designed to encourage students to appreciate the various workplace hazards
confronting companies. Students may complete this exercise individually as a homework
assignment or during class time. If students complete the exercise during class time,
approximately 20 to 30 minutes should be allowed for steps 1, 2, and 3. Additional time should
be given if you would like students to answer the exercise’s three questions. Otherwise, these
questions may be used as a basis for class discussion.
1. Are there any jobs that face no workplace hazards or threats?
Students’ answers will vary. However, most jobs, including administrative occupations,
2. Are there dangerous jobs that simply cannot be made less hazardous?
Students’ answers to this question will vary. However, students should discuss that various
3. See if you can find any data online about the real hazards or threats facing the jobs you
identified.