10.

1 INTRODUCTION

Since large number of employees spend great deal of their

time in work place, their work environment is not always good for
their healthy life. Stress, Strains, Mental and Psychological
Conditions, Poor working conditions, Long hours of work, Poor
ventilation, Insanitation, Malnutrition etc spoil their health. Efficiency
in work place is possible only when an employee is healthy on the
other hand industry exposes workers to certain hazards which
affect his heaith. The symptoms of bad health are high rate of
absenteeism and turnover, industrial discontent and indiscipline,
poor performance and low productivity. Modern industry is
characterized by complicated mechanisms, intricate job

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requirements, and fast moving production lines. One of the

important consequences of all this is increased dangers to human
life, through accidents. To avoid this safety programmes like
industrial health programmes are introduced, both for employers
and employees benefit.

10.2 MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF EMPLOYEE

HEALTH AND SAFETY

10.2.1 MEANING AND DEFINITION

The W.H.O has defined health as "a state of complete physical,

mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity."
Health has been defined as "a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity."

"Health and safety means safe working practices, following

guidelines, regulations and procedures, fire safety, and the
maintenance of a safe working environment.

As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO)

"occupational health deals with all aspects of health and safety in
the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of
hazards."

Occupational health S a multidisciplinary field

of healthcare concened with enabling an individual to undertake
their occupation, in the way that causes least harm to their health.
Health has been defined as It contrasts, for example, with the
promotion of health and safety at work, which is concerned with
preventing harm from any incidental hazards, arising in the
workplace.
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i) prevention among workers of ill-health caused by the working

conditions
ii) Protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting
from factorS adverse to health, and
iv) Placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational
environment adapted to his physical and psychological
equipment.

10.2.2 PHYsICAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH

Physical health implies prevention of disease or health

conservation and prevention of occupational disease. Health is the
outcome of the interaction between the individual and his
environment. Health not only depends on the employee but also on
the environment. Efficiency in work is possible when the worker is
healthy physically and mentally.

Industries exposes employees to certain hazards which he

would not meet elsewhere and which may affect his health.
Physical and mental health both are essential for the satisfaction
and improved morale, discipline, performance and productivity of
the employees.

In India, the Royal Commission on Labour (1931), the

Labour Investigation Committee (1946), the Health Survey and
Development committee (1943), the Labour Welfare Committee
(1969) all e m p h a s i z e d u p o n t h e " creation a n d m a i n t e n a n c e of a n

healthy environment as possible, in the homes of the people as well

as in all places where they congregate for work, amusement or
recreation are essential".

10.3 THE IMPORTANCE OF HEALTH AND SAFETY:

Following points explains the importance of Health and safety:

1. To overcome poverty: Healthy workers are productive and
raise healthy families; thus healthy workers are a key strategy in
Overcoming poverty. Safe workplaces contribute to sustainable
development which reduces the level of poverty.
2. Pollution control and exposure reduction: Health and safety
measures include the processes of protecting workers,
surrounding communities and the environment for future
generations. Pollution and environmental exposures arise from
industrial processes are hazardous to health. That can be
beneficially influenced by occupational health and safety
programmes.
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3. Human loss and suffering is immeasurable: A serious injury

or death happened at the workplace changes lives of that
particular family, friends, communities, and coworkers forever.
Occupational injuries and illnesses can provoke major crises for
the families in which they occur. In addition to major financial
burdens, they can impose substantial time demands on
uninjured family members. Today, when many families are
operating with very little free time, family resources may be
stretched to the breaking point.

4. Ensures that our beloved one is safe: We always think that

beloved one who leaves for work in the morning should expect
to return home at night in good health. Only the imagination of
beloved one will never be returning home or returning with any
physical disability is heart breaking for the family. When such
thing happens really it changes lives of the whole family forever.
The Health and Safety measures ensures that husbands return
to their wives, wives to their husbands, parents to their children,
children to their parents and friends to their friends in safe
conditions.-that is the most important reason to create a safe
and healthy work environment.

5. Reduces costs the business: If a worker is injured on the job,

it costs the company in lost work hours, increased insurance
rates, workers' compensation premiums and possible litigation.
Productivity is lost when other workers have to stop work to deal
with the injury. Even after the injured employee has been sent
home or taken to the hospital, other employees may be
distracted or need to take time off from work in the aftermath of
the incident. Even a single injury can have far-reaching and
debilitating effects on your business. All these types of losses
can be avoided by providing health and safety environment to
the employees.

6. Improves the employability of workers: Employee attrition

and absenteeism are the major obstacles in increasing
productivity of the business. When the employer provides safe
and healthy environment and safe workplace, it reduces the
above issues on a great scale. Such environment can be
created in several ways like: Workplace redesign, maintenance
of a healthy and safe work environment, training and retraining,
assessment of work demands, medical diagnosis, health
screening and assessment of functional capacities etc. By
involving employees in safety decisions-through reporting,
committees, walk-troughs and meetings it has been showed that
their opinion matters to the company. By improving safety, the
company proves that it cares about their wel-being. In such
cases workers typically respond by working harder, showing
more pride in their jobs and remaining loyal.

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7. Safety improves quality: It has been proved that the

companies that put safety first turn out higher quality products.
In some cases, that's because a safe workplace tends to be a
more efficient one, free of debris and tangles of cords. In other
cases, it's a matter of focus. By workingin a clean, efficient
environment, workers are able to reduce distractions and truly
focus on the quality of what they do. It results in better products
that create customer loyalty, bigger margins and increased
sales.
ORGANISATIONAL ROLE TOWRDS SAFETY AND HEALTH OF
HUMAN RESOUCES

For the safety and health of human resource the organization

has to take proper decisions n the following cases

1. To implement the safety and health managerment system: The

company has to have a system i.e. a policy, designate people
and clear procedures: to manage health and safety. The
must set out a
company having more than five
written health and safety policy statement.
employees
2. To provide_appropriate financial. human. and organizationa
resources: Every reasonable effort must be made to provide
adequate funding to protect the workplace safety and health of
empioyees. It may be
necessary to prepare to
documentation
justify expenses associated with hazard abatement. In addition,

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long term planning and expert advice may be required. Costs

can be minimized with proper planning and research.
Remember that financial commitment to safety and health is a
strong indicator of management's overall commitment.

3. To issue a written safety and health policy as a core value of the

organization: A written safety and health policy clearly states the
company's commitment to effective safety and health
management and in providing a safe and healthy working
environment. Communicating the organization's commitment is
as important as the company's statement

4. To define roles, assigning responsibilities, establishing

accountability and delegating authority: The company must be
able to show how it is planning, organising, controlling,
monitoring and reviewing the preventative measures.

5. To integrate the safety and health goals/objectives into the

organization's business systems and processes.

6. To discuss safety and health processes and improvements

regularly during staff or employee meetings: Employee
involvement can help. When there are alternative ways to
address a hazard, effective managers have found thatinvolving
employeesin discussions of methods can identify useful
prevention and control measures, serve as a means for
communicating the rationale for decisions made, and encourage
employee acceptance of the decisions.

7. To ensure management is held accountable for accident-

prevention processes
8. To assess the success of the safety and health processes
manually: Evaluation of the safety and health system is
essential for examining that the system is working against the
goals and objectives the company established. Evaluation
seeks to assess the safety and health activities, controls and
procedures and detemine if goals are being met, hazards
being corrected and other improvements in the system are
being made. Evaluations should be conducted annual.

9. To encourage employees to take an active part in maintaininga

safe and healthy workplace An employer should ensure that all
employees understand the hazards to which they may be
exposed and how to prevent harm to themselves and others
from exposure to these hazards. A thorough understanding of
the hazards and their prevention will affect employee
acceptance and use of established safety and health
protections. Training for this purpose is reinforced by
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couraging attempts to work safely and by positive recognition

of safe behavior.

10.To follow established safety and health rules and procedures.

11.To discuss openly safety and health issues with employees

during periodic tours or meetings or by visiting personally
visiting the work place. When employees notice that the
manager 'walking around" them or discussing about their work,
they realize that manager is taking care of them.
12.To establish a system for effective communication: Every
and health includes
organization's approach to managing safety
verbal and written Communication as a two-way
process between employer and employees. Regular safety and
health communication keeps employees informed and
invites feedback and suggestions.

13.To recognize employees for their safety and health effots:

Employees are a company's most valuable asset, and top
management should recognize employees for their efforts.
and achievements. A recognition system provides a
good
counter balance to a disciplinary system by focusing on the
positive and motivates employees to practice safety and health
work habits. A recognition system can be very simple and
inexpensive.