Occupational Health and Safety

Occupational health and safety deals with the health, safety and welfare of people in employment. It deals with safeguarding the lives of all those people, who, in some way, are connected to the work environment. It is also concerned with the welfare of the family members and dependents of the working employees.

People spend a major part of the day at their workplace. It is at work that they exercise their talents and use their expertise for the benefit of their organization. It is at their workplace that they devote their time and effort for the welfare of their company. They need to be motivated by providing them with a positive atmosphere and most importantly, they need to feel safe and secure. To know more about the safety at workplace, you might like to read about office safety.

Importance of Occupational Health and Safety

Occupational safety implies the protection of workers from conditions that risk their overall well being. It involves the maintenance of good working conditions and ensuring protection of workers from risks resulting from factors that are adverse to health.

Why is it important to establish occupational safety? There are many reasons. Firstly, the absence of occupational safety penalizes the government, as the State has to incur costs of employee compensation, medical treatment and social security payments. The employing organizations also have to incur economic losses in the form of compensatory benefits that they have to pay to the employee. Secondly, they lose their goodwill among other employees as well as their customers. Also, it is a moral responsibility of an employer to ensure the safety of his/her employees. When an organization utilizes human beings as an important resource, it is the organization’s duty to look after their safety.

What are the factors that need to be considered for occupational health and safety? One of the most important factors to be considered while ensuring occupational health is the need for safety. Once the safety needs of each occupation are determined, it is necessary to devise effective measures to satisfy the health and safety needs of the employees in that occupation. It is essential for the employing organization to distinguish between a hazard and a risk. A hazard is something that can prove to be harmful if it is not controlled, while a risk refers to the probability of the occurrence of a certain outcome and is often expressed in numerical form.

After the potential risks and hazards are identified, it is important for the employing organization to evaluate the risks and ascertain the required safety measures. In order to calculate the risk, it is necessary to gauge the risk factors and analyze the severity of their adverse effects. Theses calculations need to be reviewed and revised periodically and changed whenever required.

When evaluating risks, the employing companies need to take into account all the different workplace hazards. Employees may have to face equipment and machinery-related injuries. They may have to suffer from physical injuries resulting from accidents at the workplace. Harmful chemicals, radiation, pollutants and biological agents like the harmful bacteria and viruses pose a threat to the life of the employees. Certain water or air pressure conditions and artificially maintained temperature conditions as well as noise from machines can cause damage to the overall health of the employees. Certain mechanical processes involve danger of causing injury. Besides these tangible risks, there are several important psychological issues to be dealt with. Employees have to undergo work-related stress. Moreover, they might fall prey to bullying, sexual or verbal harassment or even violence. It is very important for the employing organizations to consider these hazards while planning for occupational health and safety measures.

Implementation of the safety measures is the essence of occupational health and safety. There is no point in calculating the risks and documenting the risk factors and hazards, if no safety measures can be put into effect. It is extremely important for the employing organizations to devise practically feasible safety measures and ensure their strict implementation. After all, we are dealing with the safety of human life, which is indeed priceless.