CHAPTER 12
Promoting Safety and Health
12-1
Health and Safety – Minds on…
• Workplace Violence Training Video – YouTube
• Organizational safety and health are often taken for granted and, therefore, not
afforded the attention they deserve. A safe and healthy organizational
environment helps to reduce personal tragedies while saving the company
money. Emphasize that supervisors and managers are expected to know and
comply with the laws and court cases governing this area of HRM.
• Based on recent statistics, one in every 70 workers can expect to be injured at
work each year in Canada and there were over 1,000 workplace deaths in Canada
in 2018. Costs associated with sick leave, disability payments, replacement of
employees who are injured or killed, and workers’ compensation far exceed the
costs of maintaining a safety and health program. One study found that
employers saved between $1.81 and $6.15 for each $1 invested in workplace
health and safety. Accidents and illnesses attributable to the workplace are also
likely to have pronounced effects on employee morale and on the reputation that
the organization enjoys in the community and in the business world.
12-2
Learning Outcomes
LO1 Describe key aspects of the federal and
provincial occupational heath and safety
legislation.
LO2 Understand actions managers and employees
can take the create a safe work environment.
LO3 Identify ways to control and eliminate on-the-job
health hazards.
LO4 Describe the programs organizations use to build
better health among their workforces.
12-3
Safety and Health: It’s the Law – 1
• The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations to
adapt to new, different, and ever-changing health and
safety concerns.
• Occupational safety and health accidents are both
numerous and costly to employers.
• Good health and safety practices are indicative of topnotch organizations.
• Most organizations provide their employees with good
working conditions (1) because it is the right thing to
do, and (2) because firms realize that people are the
most strategic asset they have.
12-4
Safety and Health: It’s the Law – 2
• Occupational health
and safety is regulated
by the federal,
provincial, and
territorial governments.
• Statutes and standards
vary slightly from
jurisdiction to
jurisdiction.
12-5
Safety and Health: It’s the Law – 3
• Occupational injury
− Any cut, fracture, sprain, or amputation resulting
from a workplace accident or from an exposure
involving an accident in the work environment
− The worker’s involvement in the accident can be
direct, or the worker can simply be near enough to
the accident to be injured as a result of it.
• Occupational illness
− Any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one
resulting from an occupational injury, caused by
exposure to environmental factors associated with
employment
12-6
Safety and Health
In 2018, there were 1,027 workplace-related deaths in Canada,
and there were 264,438 injuries serious enough to cause a
worker to miss at least one day of work.
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Figure 12.1
Fatalities and Injuries Across Canada,
2018
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Figure 12.2
Occupational Health and Safety in Canada
12-9
Duties and Responsibilities – 1
• Duties of employers
− Prove due diligence
− Report to the Workers' Compensation Board all
accidents that cause injuries and diseases
− Assess the workplace to determine what is needed
to protect the health and safety of employees
− Consider restricting business-related travel and
providing time off for workers who need to selfisolate or quarantine due to a potential exposure or
confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus
12-10
Duties and Responsibilities – 2
• Duties of workers
− Workers have numerous rights when it comes to
requesting and receiving information about
workplace safety and health conditions.
− If an employee suspects that working conditions
are hazardous, he or she should notify his or her
supervisor, who will launch an investigation with
the help of a worker representative.
12-11
Duties and Responsibilities – 3
• Duties of supervisors
− Occupational health
and safety acts require
supervisors to advise
employees of potential
hazards, provide
written instructions,
and take every
reasonable precaution
to guarantee the safety
of workers.
12-12
Duties and Responsibilities – 4
• Duties of joint health and safety committees
− Most jurisdictions require that health and safety
committees be set up, with both union and
management representation.
− These joint committees aim to establish a
nonadversarial climate for creating safe and
healthy workplaces.
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Penalties for Employer
Noncompliance
• The penalties for violating occupational health and
safety regulations vary across provinces and territories.
• Bill C-45, also known as the corporate killing law, makes
it possible for criminal charges to be brought against
coworkers, supervisors, and executives when a worker
is killed or injured on the job.
− General Motors Canada was fined $325,000 for a
violation that resulted in an employee's death.
− A Nova Scotia wind farm was fined $95,000 when
two workers died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
12-14
Workers’ Compensation
• Injured workers may receive benefits in the form of a cash
payout (if the disability is permanent) or wage loss
payments under workers' compensation.
• The goal is to get the employee back to work as soon as
possible.
• The definitions of accidents and injuries have recently been
expanded to include industrial diseases and stress.
− A disease resulting from exposure to a substance
relating to a particular process, trade, or occupation in
industry
http://www.hrreporter.com/videodisplay/158-new-workreintegration-program-at-ontarios-wsib
12-15
Promoting a Safe Work Environment
• Organizations with formal safety programs
generally have an employee–management safety
committee that includes representatives from
management, each department or
manufacturing/service unit, and employee
representatives.
• The most important role of a safety awareness
program is motivating managers, supervisors, and
subordinates to be champions of safety
considerations.
• Programs at Trent to provide safety?
12-16
Creating a Culture of Safety
• Human resource
managers can play a
critical role in fostering
a culture of safety
within their
organizations.
• Experts advocate for a
culture that focuses on
process safety metrics
rather than injuries.
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Enforcing Safety Rules
• Ways to involve and engage employees
in company safety programs:
− Jointly set safety standards with managers
− Participate in safety training
− Help design and implement special safety
training programs
− Establish safety incentives and rewards
− Be involved in accident investigations
− Solicit employee ideas and opinions
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Figure 12.3
Steps in a Successful Safety Program
12-19
Investigating and Recording Accidents
• Every accident, even minor, should be investigated by
the supervisor and a member of the safety committee.
• Employers are required to keep certain records of workrelated injuries and illnesses.
• Organizations can compute their incidence rates (i.e., the
number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time employees
during a given year where 200,000 equals the base for 100
full-time workers who work 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a
year):
𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
number of injuries and illnesses × 200,000
total hours worked by all employees during period covered
http://www.hrreporter.com/videodisplay/273-conductingohs-incident-investigations
12-20
Controlling and Eliminating
Health Hazards – 1
• Safety Hazards and Issues
− Distracted driving:
• To help prevent driving accidents, many
employers are adopting mandatory cell phone
policies.
− Workplace violence:
• Exposure to workplace violence results in
employees fearing more incidents of violence,
leading to personal (such as stress) and
organizational (reduced commitment, neglect of
job duties) strains.
• Managers and supervisors can be trained to
recognize violence indicators (Figure 12.4).
12-21
Controlling and Eliminating
Health Hazards – 2
• Safety Hazards and Issues
− Workplace bullying
• Bullying is often perpetrated by authority
figures—that is, people abusing their positions
of power.
− Workplace emergencies
• Emergency action plan: A plan an organization
develops that contains step-by-step procedures
for dealing with various emergency situations
− Crisis Management Teams: conduct initial risk
assessment surveys, develop action plans to
respond to violent situations, and perform crisis
intervention during violent encounters
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Figure 12.4
Violence Indicators: Know the Warning
Signs
12-23
Creating a Healthy Work Environment
• Ergonomics
− focuses on ensuring that jobs are designed for safe and
efficient work while improving the safety, comfort, and
performance of users
• Cumulative trauma disorders (or repetitive strain injuries)
− Injuries of the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments,
joints, and spinal discs caused by repeated stresses and
strains
− One example is carpal tunnel syndrome
• Chemical hazards
− WHMIS
http://www.hrreporter.com/videodisplay/259-csasworkplace-ergonomics-standard
12-24
Figure 12.6
Key Elements for a Successful Ergonomics
Program
12-25
Building Better Physical and Emotional
Health among Employees – 1
• Employers are concerned with their employees'
physical and emotional health, and thus provide
programs to maintain and improve both.
• Firms are doing so to reduce health-care costs and
because they recognize that employees who are not
distracted by health issues can work more safely.
• Better health can reduce absenteeism, increase
employee efficiency and creativity, and lead to
improved morale and teamwork.
• Depression in the Workplace: Negative emotional state
marked by feelings of low spirits, gloominess, sadness,
and loss of pleasure in ordinary activities
12-26
Building Better Physical and Emotional
Health among Employees – 2
• Alcoholism
− Alcoholism affects workers in every occupational
category—blue collar and white collar.
• Drug Abuse
− One of the major employment issues today.
− Besides lost productivity, there are the costs of
increased numbers of accidents and injuries and
rising rates of employee theft.
− Random drug testing in Canadian workplaces is
increasingly becoming a topic of debate.
12-27
Job Stress and Burnout
• Stress
− Any adjustive demand caused by physical,
mental, or emotional factors that require coping
behaviour
• Eustress
− Positive stress that accompanies achievement
and exhilaration
• Distress
− Harmful stress characterized by a loss of feelings
of security and adequacy
12-28
Job-Related Stress – 1
• Sources of Job-Related Stress:
− High demand:
• having too much to do in too short a time.
− High effort:
• having to expend too much mental or physical
energy over too long a period.
− Low control:
• having too little influence over the way a job is
done on a day to-day basis.
− Low reward:
• receiving inadequate feedback on performance
and no recognition for a job well done.
12-29
Job-Related Stress – 2
• Sources of Job-Related Stress (concluded):
− Other recognized job stressors include:
• layoffs and organizational restructuring;
disagreements with managers or fellow
employees; prejudice because of age, gender,
race, or religion; inability to voice complaints;
and poor working conditions.
• Burnout
− Burnout is a special type of work-related stress.
− The most severe stage of distress, manifesting itself
in depression, frustration, and loss of productivity.
12-30
Coping with Stress
• Many employers have
created stress
management programs
to teach their
employees how to
reduce the negative
effects of job-related
stress.
12-31
Tips for Reducing Job-Related Stress
Build rewarding relationships with coworkers.
Talk openly with managers or employees about job or personal concerns.
Prepare for the future by keeping abreast of likely changes in job demands.
Do not greatly exceed your skills and abilities.
Set realistic deadlines; negotiate reasonable deadlines with managers.
Act now on problems or concerns of importance.
Designate dedicated work periods during which interruptions are avoided.
When feeling stressed, find time for detachment or relaxation.
Do not let trivial items take on importance; handle them quickly or assign them to
others.
• Take short breaks from your work area as a change of pace.
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