PCTE Group of Institutes, Ludhiana

MBA 2nd Semester

H UM A N RESOURCE M A N AG E ME NT
P R O JE CT

TOPIC: Health, safety and well being of employees & current practices by companies

NAME: Avneet Kaur Juneja

UNIV. ROLL NO: 2113699

OFFICIAL E-MAIL ADDRESS: avneetkaurpctemba2021c@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

There is a growing body of evidence that supports the concept that a healthy workforce
provides a competitive business advantage. Unhealthy employees typically spend more on
healthcare, a direct cost for most large and mid-sized employers. Even more costly are the
losses in productivity—an estimated $2 to $3 additional dollars for each dollar spent on direct
healthcare costs.1 Moreover, companies that focus on health and safety for their workforce
may create a culture that supports a healthy workforce and increases the percentage of em-
ployees engaged and committed to the organisation’s success.2 Additionally, these companies
may become “employers of choice,” allowing them to attract and retain top-performing tal-
ent.

Warren Buffet has called health care cost the “real corporate tax” because of its escalation
over the last many years.18 A recent study shows that companies who engage in validated
ways to support their workforce's health, safety, and well-being tend to see a reduction in
health care cost trends.17 Creating a culture of health is particularly important in a business
environment where healthcare costs are often considered a runaway cost, rising at a rate two
to three times higher than general inflation.

In sum, the evidence clearly points to the correlation of companies that invest in a culture of
health, safety, and well-being having a competitive advantage. It stands to reason then that in-
vestors who can identify and score those companies should have an investment advantage.

Need for Safety in the Workplace?

It is not possible to measure the effects of human casualties. They can have grave

consequences for employees and their families and friends as well. This is why

workplace safety and health measures are necessary. Also, employee protection

from injuries or death leads to business success.Often, we get so busy competing for

productivity or speed that the safety part falls short of attention. And accidents are

most likely to happen then, especially since we get complacent with the regular activ-

ities that we ignore the danger they pose.The feeling of assurance that one has,

knowing that he will return safely from work, is more significant than anything else.

There are occupational safety and health risks in every company. Factors affecting

workplace safety include unsafe working conditions and environmental hazards. It

can also have substance abuse and workplace violence.

For example, employees working in an IT company may have to work with faulty

wires or electronics. Whereas in a construction company, employees may be ex-

posed to the dangers of operating heavy equipment.

To combat these risks, employers should create strategies that ensure and promote

safety in their workplaces.

Employers should also learn the desired aspects of their employees in terms of

safety and protection. This will help increase productivity and the quality of the

products and services.

Four dimensions of integrated well-being

An integrated approach that encompasses four dimensions of employee well-being –

physical, financial, emotional and social – is the key to creating greater employee en-
gagement. 

1. Physical well-being: To thrive physically means understanding and managing

one’s health, taking appropriate preventive measures, improving health status where
needed, managing chronic conditions, navigating and recovering from an acute ill-
ness or unexpected injury, and successfully returning to peak functionality at home
and at work. 

2. Emotional well-being: Being emotionally balanced means being self-aware,

maintaining good mental health, being resilient by managing stress, coping with pos-
itive and negative emotional triggers, dealing with life crises and maintaining stability
through illness or injury. 

3. Financial well-being: Achieving the state of being financially secure means hav-

ing the ability to manage budgetary commitments, meet financial goals, protect
against risks, save for contingencies or future needs like college or retirement and
cope with financial shocks. 

4. Social well-being: Social employee well-being is about being connected by un-

derstanding how to interact well with others, accepting diversity, being inclusive,
knowing how to support and collaborate with others, being able to successfully re-
solve conflicts and adapting to change. Being connected applies across one’s family
and friends, one’s workplace and the larger community.

So all these dimensions must be taken care of for devising strategies for health, safety
and well being of employees.

How to connect these four well-being dimensions for employees? 

Companies can implement a more personalized, integrated approach to employee well-being

by following these six steps:

1. Assess where your company is currently –

Let us consider both the employee perspective as well as your leadership’s point of
view. For example, when it comes to physical well-being, company may integrate
workplace safety and well-being strategy and programs, but may not be delivering
programs or pilots that target specific conditions or high-cost cases that employees are
looking for. 

2. Set goals and objectives to help close the gaps-

Identify your assessment and develop guiding principles for design and prioritisation
of your strategy. For example, you may want to set and track specific metrics for fin-
ancial employee well-being programs at pivotal financial decision points and then of-
fer one-on-one counselling at employees’ critical junctures if you find these programs
are being under-utilised

3. Design your well-being program -

Consider decision support and educational tools across each of the key dimensions.
For example, for emotional well-being programs, consider decision support tools to
help employees find the right behavioural health provider or treatment facilities. 

4. Consider vendor solutions and software tools

To implement programs you determine are needed across each dimension. For ex-
ample, diet and exercise tracking for physical; retirement counselling sessions for fin-
 ancial; employee assistance programs for emotional; eLearning platforms to promote
positive workplace culture and diversity initiatives for social.

5. Implement processes for managing vendors and tracking progress

For example, require vendors to share data for employee referrals and integrated re-
porting. Use single sign-on technology to enable employees to easily access various
vendors through one benefits portal.

6. Engage employees 

Through campaigns, training, ongoing communications and the rollout of individual-

ised solutions. For example, use social recognition such as designating local champi-
ons for community initiatives, and your company intranet to promote photos and stor-
ies of employee participation in activities. 

The graphic below illustrates a number of other ways to consider the various components of
employee well-being as part of an integrated strategy. 

An integrated approach to employee well-being means moving away from

buzzwords and gestures to finding solutions that can meet employees where they
are. It means creating a culture that supports and respects employees as individuals
(e.g., inclusion and diversity, community involvement, corporate social responsibility,
etc.) And it means planning for the lifespan of your employees, not just the next year.
Over time, their needs will change, so you need to design programs that will evolve
as they do.

So organisations can take the following measures to ensure safety to the employees:

1. Give workers more control over how they do their work. 

Research indicates that having little discretion over how work gets done is associated
not only with poorer mental health but also with higher rates of heart disease. A
study in a customer service call center, for example, found that giving its employees
more training so they could take on new tasks and resolve more customer complaints
on their own improved both the employees’ well-being and their performance on the
job.

2. Allow employees more flexibility about when and where they work. 

Several studies have found that giving workers more choice or control over their
work schedules improves their mental health. This can involve simply permitting
varied starting and stopping times and easier trading of shifts in jobs that must be
done on-site. A more extensive work redesign at a Fortune 500 company — where IT
employees were given control over when and where they did their work but still col-
laborated with their teammates to ensure needed coordination — resulted in physical
and mental health improvements for employees as well as reduced turnover for the
business.

3. Increase the stability of workers’ schedules. 

Many retail and service companies today use “just in time” scheduling to try to match
labor to fluctuating demand. But erratic, unpredictable schedules make it hard for
frontline workers to manage their personal lives and family responsibilities. Research
finds a range of negative outcomes occur for workers who have this kind of erratic
work schedule — including poorer sleep quality and greater emotional distress.

4. Provide employees with opportunities to identify and solve workplace prob-

lems. 

Giving employees opportunities to participate in workplace improvements can be an

effective approach to fostering their well-being. One study of doctors, physician as-
sistants, and nurse practitioners found that those who were invited to participate in a
structured process of identifying and addressing problems in their workplace exhib-
ited decreased rates of burnout and increases in job satisfaction.

5. Keep your organisation adequately staffed, so workloads are reasonable.

Staffing up to spread out the demands may seem costly, but employers also pay a real
price when exhausted or ill employees burn out, are absent, or quit. The solution may
lie in changing staffing in a targeted way; for example, one study found improve-
ments in efficiency and job satisfaction when doctors were provided with a medical
scribe trained to take over some of their charting tasks.

6. Encourage managers in your organisation to support employees’ personal

needs.

Many employees are also caregivers for children or elderly parents, and they benefit
from supervisors who are more supportive of the challenges they face in trying to bal-
ance their work and personal lives.

7. Take steps to foster a sense of social belonging among employees. 

Creating a work culture in which employees can develop supportive relationships

with their colleagues can be an important strategy for increasing worker well-being.
Research has found that such relationships at work are associated with lower psycho-
logical distress, an indicator of poor mental health.

8. Implement Workplace Safety Programs

The first step in building a safety program is to get all employees to commit to work-

place safety. One way to do this is to include workplace health and safety in the

company’s mission statement. It should be the duty of every employee to carry out

the safety policies.

Employers should investigate all accidents in the workplace. They should encourage

employees to follow all safety procedures.

Moreover, the hazards of not following them should be clearly stated in writing. This

reduces the chances of mistakes.

9. Provide Proper Safety Training to Employees

Training is an integral part of every company’s safety program to protect employees

from accidents. Research shows that new employees have a higher risk of work-

place accidents. The lack of knowledge of workplace hazards and proper work tech-

niques cause this more significant risk.

Employers should provide employees with the necessary training to reduce work-

place accidents. Employees should operate all equipment and machinery safely and

adequately.

For instance, the operation of heavy machinery should be properly taught to employ-

ees. Only trained or certified employees should operate such types of equipment.

This is why it is vital to provide safety training to employees by experts.

10. Use Protective Safety Equipment

The usage of equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause workplace

injuries is critical. Not doing so can cause injury or even death. Employees may have
to work with chemicals, machines, electronics, and other potential work hazards.

Employers must provide such employees with personal protective equipment

(P.P.E).P.P.E should be safely designed, constructed, and fit comfortably. Examples

of P.P.E are gloves, protective eyewear, clothing, earplugs, hard hats, etc.

11. Report Unsafe Working Conditions

Employees must inform any kind of safety hazard or work risks to the management.

Employers are legally obligated to ensure safe working environments for their em-

ployees. They must end workplace safety hazards and promote safety in the work-

place.

12.. Practice Correct Posture

Bad posture is one of the main reasons for back pain. It is imperative to prac-

tice good and correct posture to reduce the risk of getting hurt. For example, if you

have to sit for long hours, use specially designed chairs. Also, always sit upright.

13. Reduce Workplace Stress

Workplace stresscan cause many health problems like anxiety, depression, etc.Job in-

security,  high workload, etc., cause workplace stress.Learn how to combat work-

place stress and avoid its adverse effects. Workplace stress can have drastic effects

on workplace productivity and employee health.

14. Promote Regular Breaks

Employers should encourage employees to take regular breaks. Taking frequent

breaks will prevent tiredness and fatigue. This will further prevent injuries or ill-

nesses. Breaks help employees stay fresh and focused.

15. Stay Sober and Alert

One of the significant reasons for workplace fatalities is substance abuse. Substance

abuse causes around 40% of all industrial workplace fatalities.Individuals under the

influence of alcohol or drugs are less alert. Their decision-making ability, coordina-

tion, concentration, and motor control get compromised. This creates risks for work-

place injury and fatalities.

16.. Give Easy Access to Exits in Case of Emergencies

If there is an emergency, there should be easy access to emergency exits. Easy ac-

cess to emergency exits will reduce injuries and casualties. So, the slightest hint you

get of something going wrong, and you can make the staff take down those exit-

s.Also, it is essential to have quick ways to shut down equipment in case of emer-

gencies.

17.Use Mechanical Aids

An industrial job may need employees to work with heavy equipment. There are

many injury risks involved in trying to lift and move heavy objects.

Therefore, you should provide your employees with a conveyor belt, forklift, or

wheelbarrow instead of lifting manually.

Benefits of a Safe and Healthy Work Environment

 It goes without saying that the safer the work environment, the more product-

ive it is. Productive employees are an asset to all companies. For instance, ef-

fective employees can produce more output less time, reducing operational

costs for a company.

 Workplace safety promotes the wellness of employees and employers alike.

Better protection equates to better health. Healthier employees do tasks more

efficiently, and they are happier in general.

 There are very few accidents in a safe working environment. This results in

less downtime for safety investigations and reduces costs for worker’s com-

pensation. This also reduces the time needed for employees to heal from in-

juries.

 Damage to industrial equipment creates costs for replacement and repair.

Avoiding workplace injuries and damage to industrial equipment will incur

fewer expenses and increase profit.

 If employers are concerned about the safety of their employees, the employ-

ees are more confident and comfortable in general. Also, absenteeism rate

drop, and employees are more focused on doing their tasks.

So every organisation must take care of the safety and well being of their em-

ployees