Occupational Health And Safety

How Much do your Employees Really know About Health and Safety in the Workplace?

Being careful at work is a no-brainer. We all know that accidents happen and we try our best not to get into trouble or dangerous situations. No matter how careful we think we are, sometimes we will find ourselves in a mess. 

Health and Safety isn't taken as seriously as it should be in the workplace. We hear about job-related deaths and injuries constantly on the news or through social media. Why is this such an issue and why does it keep happening? Our employees are not being educated enough and they are not refusing unsafe work when they should be! Many people find it a little scary to refuse work if asked by a supervisor or manager because they do not want to feel like they're not doing their job. Everyone has the right to refuse unsafe work and many of us forget this.

So why aren't companies emphasizing the importance of Health & Safety practices and knowledge? It has been reported that in more recent years, companies have been taking more responsibility. If you know that you could create a safer work environment and avoid injury costs, why would any organization choose not to? Well, that would mean that they would need to plan and  invest money into educating employees about safe practices. The conclusion is that many are unwilling to do so.

Not only are employees being hurt but the companies themselves are creating a negative image of their workplace and their values. What companies need to do is think about the "what if's" and realize that accidents can happen anywhere and employees need to know what to do when they occur. 

How do you feel about working for an organization if you know that they do not educate staff about workplace Health And Safety? 

(Schwind, H., Das, H., & Wager, T., Fassina, N., & Bulmash, J. (2013) Canadian Human Resources Management, 10th Edition)