PCTE Group of Institutes, Ludhiana

MBA 2nd Semester

H UMAN RESOURCE M ANAGEMENT
P R O JECT

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 cul-
ture that supports a healthy workforce and increases the percentage of employ-
ees engaged and committed to the organisation’s success.2 Additionally, these
companies may become “employers of choice,” allowing them to attract and re-
tain top-performing talent.

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 investors 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 pro-
tection 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 compla-
cent with the regular activities 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 con-
ditions and environmental hazards. It can also have substance abuse and work-
place violence. For example, employees working in an IT company may have to
work with faulty wires or electronics. Whereas in a construction company, em-
ployees may be exposed to the dangers of operating heavy equipment. To com-
bat 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-be-

ing – physical, financial, emotional and social – is the key to creating greater
employee engagement. 

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

aging one’s health, taking appropriate preventive measures, improving health
status where needed, managing chronic conditions, navigating and recovering
from an acute illness 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
positive and negative emotional triggers, dealing with life crises and maintain-
ing stability through illness or injury. 

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

having the ability to manage budgetary commitments, meet financial goals, pro-
tect against risks, save for contingencies or future needs like college or retire-
ment and cope with financial shocks. 

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

understanding how to interact well with others, accepting diversity, being in-
clusive, knowing how to support and collaborate with others, being able to suc-
cessfully resolve 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 em-

ployee 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 leader-

ship’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 spe-
cific 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 financial employee well-being programs at
pivotal financial decision points and then offer 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 di-
mensions. For example, for emotional well-being programs, consider de-
cision 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 dimen-

sion. For example, diet and exercise tracking for physical; retirement
counselling sessions for financial; 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 in-
tegrated reporting. 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

individualised solutions. For example, use social recognition such as des-
ignating local champions for community initiatives, and your company
intranet to promote photos and stories of employee participation in activ-
ities. 

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 in-
dividuals (e.g., inclusion and diversity, community involvement, corporate so-
cial responsibility, etc.) And it means planning for the lifespan of your employ-
ees, 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 asso-
ciated not only with poorer mental health but also with higher rates of heart dis-
ease. 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 permit-
ting 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 com-
pany — where IT employees were given control over when and where they did
their work but still collaborated with their teammates to ensure needed coordin-
ation — 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 responsibil-
ities. 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

problems. 

Giving employees opportunities to participate in workplace improvements can

be an effective approach to fostering their well-being. One study of doctors,
physician assistants, and nurse practitioners found that those who were invited
to participate in a structured process of identifying and addressing problems in
their workplace exhibited decreased rates of burnout and increases in job satis-
faction.

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 improvements 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’ per-

sonal needs.

Many employees are also caregivers for children or elderly parents, and they be-
nefit from supervisors who are more supportive of the challenges they face in
trying to balance 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 relation-

ships 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 psychological 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
workplace 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 en-
courage 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 em-

ployees from accidents. Research shows that new employees have a higher risk
of workplace accidents. The lack of knowledge of workplace hazards and
proper work techniques cause this more significant risk.

Employers should provide employees with the necessary training to reduce

workplace accidents. Employees should operate all equipment and machinery
safely and adequately.
For instance, the operation of heavy machinery should be properly taught to em-
ployees. Only trained or certified employees should operate such types of equip-
ment. 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 work-
place injuries is critical. Not doing so can cause injury or even death. Employ-
ees 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 com-
fortably. 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 manage-
ment. Employers are legally obligated to ensure safe working environments for
their employees. They must end workplace safety hazards and promote safety in
the workplace.

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 insecurity,  high workload, etc., cause workplace stress.Learn how to com-
bat workplace 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
illnesses. Breaks help employees stay fresh and focused.

15. Stay Sober and Alert

One of the significant reasons for workplace fatalities is substance abuse. Sub-
stance abuse causes around 40% of all industrial workplace fatalities. Individu-
als under the influence of alcohol or drugs are less alert. Their decision-making
ability, coordination, concentration, and motor control get compromised. This
creates risks for workplace 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

access 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 exits. Also, it is essential to have quick ways to shut down equipment in
case of emergencies.

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 pro-
ductive it is. Productive employees are an asset to all companies. For in-
stance, effective 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
compensation. This also reduces the time needed for employees to heal
from injuries.
 Damage to industrial equipment creates costs for replacement and repair.
Avoiding workplace injuries and damage to industrial equipment will in-
cur fewer expenses and increase profit.
 If employers are concerned about the safety of their employees, the em-
ployees 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
employees