Management Chapter 12 Safety Health Wellbeing And Security Safety Health Wellbeing And Security

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Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

Chapter 12

Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

Learning Objectives

Opening Case: A Disturbance in the Workforce

Chapter Outline

Closing Case: Bullying in the Workplace

Discussion Questions

Additional Resource: 16 Workers Die Per Day Because of Employer Negligence

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, students should be able to accomplish the following objectives.

1. Identify and discuss the central elements associated with employee safety and health

3. Discuss stress and stress-management programs in organizations

4. Identify and describe the most important HR-related security issues in organizations

Opening Case: A Disturbance in the Workforce

Case Summary

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 effective preventive measures. More and more companies, for example,

have set up employee assistance programs (EAPs) to help workers deal with various sources of

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

Think It Over

1. Have you ever experienced a case of workplace violence?

2. What role, if any, might the organization itself play in instigating workplace violence?

3. Can the threat of workplace violence ever be completely eliminated? Why or why not?

Chapter Outline

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

An important step in the process of maintaining a safe and healthy workplace is to identify and

eliminate safety and health hazards on the job. Safety hazards are those conditions in the work

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

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, accidents can happen anywhere.

But in manufacturing settings, several specific conditions of the work environment might

A separate set of workplace factors may produce negative health effects that appear more

gradually. Chemicals, toxic fumes, and similar workplace elements may fall into this

category. Secondary smoke may also be a factor. Some buildings themselves have relatively

unsafe characteristics, including asbestos insulation and carpeting that has been treated with

improper combinations of chemicals and dyes. For example, people who work in coal mines

and pesticide plants may be especially prone to exposure to potential health hazards.

The U.S. Department of Labor has identified seven major categories of occupational illnesses:

2. Dust disease of the lungs

4. Poisoning

6. Disorders associated with repeated trauma

7. Other categories of occupational illnesses

B. Organizations and OSHA

Widespread concern about employee safety and health led to the passage in 1970 of the most

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

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 simply by its

initials: OSHA.

OSHA authorized the U.S. government to create and enforce various standards regarding

occupational safety and health. The responsibility for enforcing the provisions of OSHA was

assigned to the Department of Labor.

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.

Each year, new standards, revisions of old standards, or extensions or reinterpretations of

various existing standards are published by OSHA in volumes that total hundreds of pages in

length. Thus, managers frequently feel that OSHA represents unnecessary regulation of their

deaths in the workplace or that pose serious health hazards to all employees in the

organization.

Many experts believe that OSHA has not been terribly effective. They argue, for example,

that its standards are too comprehensive, too technical, and often too arbitrary. Critics also

C. Controlling Accidents at Work

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

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

protective clothing and safety devices to employees. Among the more common kinds are

various types of head protection, eye goggles and face shields, hearing protection for

excessively noisy environments, gloves for hand protection, safety shoes for foot protection,

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

effective. If the hazardous conditions can be reduced, or eliminated, the organization should

do so, but it still must take precautions even if the hazards cannot be eliminated. These

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 problems of shift work present another challenge to managing the

work environment effectively. All human beings are subject to circadian rhythms, which

tells one’s body when to eat and sleep. When employees work a night shift, their bodies must

adapt to sleeping during the day and staying awake at night. Although this change is

disruptive, the body adapts and learns to switch day and night. But employees who must work

B. Illumination, Temperature, and 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

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

attitudes and performance on the job. The physical layout of office space and the use of

dividers and cubicles also have been found to influence attitudes and behavior at work. Even

when light, temperature, or office layout did not influence performance, these factors were

associated with differences in how employees felt about their jobs and where they worked.

III. Stress and Stress Management at Work

Contemporary Challenges in HR: Diversity Breeds Stress

Audrey Murrell, an African American woman, remembers subtle forms of discrimination when

she was in school. White classmates, for example, excluded her from study groups and asserted

an implicit privilege in using classroom materials before she was allowed a turn.

Now a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, Murrell is also well aware that the same

patterns of discrimination often follow African Americans from the classroom to the workplace.

African Americans are at higher risk than whites for such conditions as cardiovascular disease

and diabetes, and research suggests a connection between differences in the prevalence of such

diseases and stress—particularly, stress resulting from racial discrimination. According to the

American Psychological Association, perceived discrimination—the perception that one has

experienced discrimination because of one’s race or ethnicity—contributes to high blood

pressure and diabetes, such unhealthy behaviors as smoking and alcohol/substance abuse, and

Student’s answers will vary. Eliminating discrimination-related stress is possible but may be

a tough challenge to overcome in the workplace. Individuals who are the targets of

discriminatory behavior, no matter how blatant or subtle, need to be encouraged to raise these

issues with HR. HR needs to have processes in place that deal with such behavior. Measures

against discrimination cannot be only reactive. All employees should attend awareness

sessions on discrimination and its affects.

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

2 If you were to experience discrimination-related stress, how would you respond?

Students’ answers will vary. Their reactions may vary based on the context in which

discrimination occurs. If it was in a work environment or a classroom, they may raise a

complaint with the person in charge. Some may also seek professional help to handle such

situations and to reduce stress.

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.

Task demands are stressors associated with the specific job a person performs. By nature,

some occupations are more stressful than others. The jobs of surgeon, air traffic controller,

and professional football coach obviously are more stressful than those of a general

Physical demands relate to the 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. In addition, office design can be related to stress if its end result is isolation, boredom,

Another set of organizational stressors consists of three interpersonal demands.

2. Leadership style can cause stress. Suppose an employee needs a great deal of social

support from his leader. The leader, however, is quite brusque and shows no concern or

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

compassion for the employee. This employee will likely feel stressed.

3. Conflicting personalities and behaviors may cause stress. Conflict can occur when two

or more people must work together even though their personalities, attitudes, and

behaviors differ.

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 that stress

differently. One factor that is important is personality. Some years ago, a group of medical

researchers noticed that patients with certain personality characteristics were more likely to

suffer early heart attacks.

• They identified these patients as having a Type A personality.

C. Consequences of Stress at Work

Stress can lead to several positive and negative consequences. Three sets of consequences that

can result from stress are individual consequences, organizational consequences, and burnout.

Individual consequences are as follows:

• Behavioral consequences of stress are responses that may harm the person under stress

or others.

o One such behavior is smoking.

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

o Other possible behavioral consequences are accident tendencies, violence, and

appetite disorders.

Clearly, any of the individual consequences mentioned above 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.

Finally, burnout, another consequence of stress, has clear implications for both employees

and organizations. This is a general feeling of exhaustion that develops when an individual

simultaneously experiences too much pressure and too few sources of satisfaction.

Other forms of dysfunctional behavior may be even more costly for an organization. Theft

and sabotage, for example, result in direct financial costs for an organization. Sexual and

racial harassment are also costly to an organization, both indirectly (by lowering morale,

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

also possible that stress has some positive effects on behavior at work. In addition, it has been

argued that without some stress, employees can become bored or become less interested in

their work.

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

undertaken through established organizational mechanisms. For example, properly designed

jobs and work schedules can help ease stress. Shift work, in particular, can cause major

problems for employees because they have to adjust their sleep and relaxation patterns

constantly.

Organizations try to help employees cope with stress through other kinds of programs. For

example, existing career-development programs like that at General Electric are used for this

purpose. Other companies use programs promoting everything from humor to massage as

E. Other Interventions

In 2009, while unemployment inched closer to 10 percent and major banks disappeared from

new threat to their well-being. Originally and unfortunately called swine flu, the H1N1

influenza reached pandemic proportions in 2009, indicating that it had spread across

significant areas of the country (technically, a pandemic indicates a disease prevalent

throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world).

OSHA began issuing statements and testifying before Congress on ways to deal with the

An organization that wants to deal with this issue must start by developing and implementing

a comprehensive AIDS policy. As a premise for developing a policy, however, all employers

must keep in mind certain points. First, it is illegal to ask an applicant if she or he has AIDS.

Some but not all states allow organizations to require applicants to take an AIDS test.

Another strategy is to form an AIDS-specific policy. This action is completely legal for an

organization to contemplate as long as neither the intent nor the implementation of the policy

results in discrimination against people on the basis of an AIDS condition. The essence of

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potentially result in serious problems for both the employer and employees.

F. Bullying at Work

In general, workplace bullying refers to a persistent pattern of mistreatment from people at

work that causes a person some harm. This can include verbal abuse, psychical abuse,

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 employment.

In addition, some organizations are active in allaying employees’ fears about an uncertain future

Stoneman Douglas High school in Parkland, Florida, by a disgruntled former student. In October

of 2015, a shooter opened fire on the Umpqua Community College campus in Roseburg, Oregon,

killing nine people and wounding nine others before he was shot dead by police. None of these

incidents (fortunately) compare with the October 2017 shooting in Las Vegas where 59 people

were killed and 500 wounded (the worst mass shooting in U.S. history), but it is clear that going

United States. Puerto Rico was devastated, as were several other Caribbean islands that typically

depend upon tourism, and it will take some time before the full impact of these storms can be

assessed.

It seems that despite the sources of stress in the world, there are always people who can handle

this stress better than others, and these people can help bring others through the crises. It is not

Closing Case: Bullying in the Workplace

Case Summary

While people often associate the term bullying with childhood behaviors, considerable research

suggests that these behaviors can extend into the workplace. In fact, 28 percent of workers

surveyed by CareerBuilder said that they had been bullied at work. The impact of bullying is

real—19 percent of these workers left their jobs as a result of the bullying. In addition,

workplace bullying has been associated with a number of counterproductive attitudes and

behaviors such as disengagement, job dissatisfaction, and symptoms of anxiety, depression,

burnout, and psychological distress.

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

In light of these statistics, there’s a very real chance that one might be the victim of a bully in the

future. Of those surveyed, nearly half confronted their bully, but this was successful in

remedying the situation only about half the time. Unfortunately, contacting the human resources

department appears to be even less effective, with no action taken 58 percent of the time.

Case Questions

1. What do you think causes bullying in the workplace?

2. As an HR manager, what policies might you implement to reduce or eliminate bullying?

3. Are there ever any circumstances where bullying is appropriate?

Discussion Questions

1. What are the differences between safety hazards and health hazards?

2. Review the list of injury-prone jobs and dangerous occupations in Table 12.1. Identify five

other jobs that you think might also belong on each list.

3. Research the OSHA guidelines and regulations that relate most directly 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?

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

6. What are the primary causes and consequences of stress in organizations?

Students’ answers will vary. 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

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

stress.

• Leadership style can cause stress. Employees who need social support from leaders

and do not get it might feel stressed. Also, employees who feel a need to participate

in decision making and cannot will feel stress.

• Stress will occur when two or more people must work together even though their

personalities, attitudes, and behaviors differ.

Stress can cause the following individual consequences.

• Behavioral consequences: These include accident proneness, violence, and appetite

An organizational consequence of stress is a decline in performance.

• For operating workers, stress can translate into poor-quality work or a drop in

When an individual simultaneously experiences too much pressure and too few sources of

satisfaction, it can cause a general feeling of exhaustion known as burnout.

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?

Chapter 12: Safety, Health, Well-Being, and Security

Students’ answers will vary. Students can be encouraged to discuss why the presence of an

on-site wellness center would influence their decisions to work for a particular

organization.

10. In general, increased security seems to come at the expense of personal freedom. In your

opinion, is this a reasonable trade-off?

Additional Resource

16 Workers Die Per Day Because of Employer Negligence

Watch the video titled 16 Workers Die Per Day Because of Employer Negligence, which can be