All industries come with safety and hazard concerns. Unfortunately, these concerns can be harmful to our physical and mental health. However, in 1970, the Occupational Health and Safety act was released. The act states that an employer is legally liable for the safety and well-being of employees. Hence, it is mandatory for companies to maintain and take care of their employee’s health and the best way to do that is by investing in occupational health and safety.
Occupational health and safety is a part of public health and works explicitly on improving workplace health and safety concerns. It aims to provide and design a work environment that is safe, secure, and healthy for workers. Thus, safety hazards are everywhere, whether you’re working at a restaurant, a factory, or a hospital. Therefore, it is your employer’s responsibility to reduce any chances of mishap and maltreatment.
How to implement Occupational Health and Safety
Managing occupational health and safety might seem overwhelming at first. However, once a company has recognized its objectives for the protection and wellness of its employees, it becomes easier to establish them. Once that is in place, employers can take professional assistance from health and safety coordinators and advisors to help companies identify workplace hazards.
Occupational Health and Safety professionals can develop policies and promote a healthy and safe working culture for employees. They will also monitor the implementation of health and safety policies. Thus, it is a satisfying job that helps you positively change many people’s lives. Occupational health and safety are the right choices if you are passionate about a career that makes a difference in people’s lives. To educate yourself about the field, you can pursue occupational safety and health online degree that offers you a flexible bachelor’s degree in the comfort of your home.
Thus, Managing safety and health concerns is equally vital for the employer and employee. It is essential to realize how It can aid us in creating a healthy space for ourselves and our workers. Hence, the following will help you understand why occupational health is essential.
1. Increased productivity
When workplaces provide employees with a comfortable and secure working environment, they automatically increase their employee’s productivity capacity. On the other hand, if companies do not provide a suitable environment that is safe and secure, then most likely, employees will not able able to give their best to the company. That is because undesirable health and safety standards can lead to many accidents, which minimizes an employee’s working capacity.
However, a healthy working environment that focuses on an employee’s overall well-being boosts their performance, as they feel protected and know that their employers are taking care of them. Moreover, when employers implement health and safety policies correctly, it increases employees’ loyalty, hence offering better performance. In addition, correct implementation of these policies also reduces accidents and mishaps in the first place, helping your employees avoid injury and be their healthiest.
2. Better mental health
Occupational Health and Safety promotes the concept that we owe a duty of care to each other. Therefore, it is essential to provide healthy safety policies that offer not only physical well-being but also mental well-being as well. Both go hand in hand, as disturbed mental health affects an employee’s productivity and wellness just as much physical health does.
Many organizational policies can interfere with an employee’s safety and health, such as long working hours, shorter breaks, and micro-managing. Besides, a lack of appreciation and poor sanitary conditions can highly impact an employee’s mental wellness. It can cause stress, anxiety, and fatigue, affecting not only their professional life but also their personal life. Consequently, all these factors can cause a lot of demotivation and dissatisfaction in workers’ life.
However, with the proper Occupational Health and Safety policies, all mental health concerns can be decreased. In addition, employers can communicate to employees how they feel about existing policies and reshape them according to their employee’s health needs.
3. Reduced workplace accidents
Workplaces come with many safety hazards. As a result, workers can find themselves in undesirable circumstances where they become victims of accidents or injuries. For example, in 2019, private industry owners stated that 2.8 million non-fatal accidents and injuries occurred in workplaces. Thus, to avoid such incidents, it is necessary for employers to put occupational health and safety into effect.
Through occupational health and safety, employers can induce many ways that reduce workplace accidents. For example, as a part of the occupational health and safety initiative, they can provide prevention and wellness programs that let them know about any possible danger and encourage them to report an accident or incident.
Moreover, if employees’ work includes managing heavy machinery, employers should provide them with all safety equipment and facilities, including gloves, goggles, earplugs, and safety shoes. In addition, they should also be provided training about the machinery.
Training ensures that an employee is well aware of the machine and its possible risks. Furthermore, knowing about all the dangers and precautions one has to take reduces the chances of being physically hurt. Employers can also educate workers about the postures they must keep while working with the machinery so they don’t physically strain their bodies.
4. Enhances business reputation
For a company to grow and flourish, it needs to maintain a good reputation, and who speaks better for a company than its employees? Incorporating occupational health and safety measures will increase employee satisfaction and boost your business.
When employees are personally motivated, they become a great source of word of mouth. They let their circle know about the good initiatives that their company takes, which ultimately starts spreading. That enables businesses to create an image that matches their organizational values.
When companies demonstrate health and safety values, it gives other companies and investors the impression of a reputable and mature company. Thus, health and safety implementation can help you build a strong company that can attract investors and has abundant business opportunities.
Conclusion
Occupational health and safety is a vital part of every industry. It is what manages and regulates the health and safety of our employees. Every employee deserves to work in an environment where security and health standards are up to the mark. Employees who do not have a healthy work environment are at risk of developing injuries, or their mental health is compromised.
Employers can effectively reduce the chances of undesirable circumstances by comprehensively understanding why occupational health and safety are essential. There are many reasons why it is important such as it decreases accidents at work, improves the mental well-being of employees, and boosts their productivity. Lastly, it also increases companies reputation. Hence, all these benefits can help companies and employees reach their highest potential.
