Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
EMPLOYEE SAFETY AT THE WORKPLACE AND ITS IMPACT ON EMPLOYEE
PERFORMANCE

The triple bottom line (TBL), which divides organizational sustainability into
categories related to the economy, the environment, and society, explains the notion of
organizational sustainability (Stoddard et al., 2012). The kindness and mutual respect of an
organization's relationship with its stakeholders, especially its employees, are correlated with
its social sustainability. With a productive relationship with employees that is comparatively
long-lasting and robust, organizations can be socially sustainable. A skilled and driven
employee is a precious resource that is not widely accessible in the market. For this reason,
modern businesses use sustainable human resources to achieve long-term competitive
advantages. Therefore, human development including instruction, training, a comfortable
workplace, fair pay, and a strong company culture is the key to achieving social sustainability
(Ullah et al., 2021).

One of the most significant institutions in the state, the healthcare industry directly
contributes to public welfare. Regardless of socioeconomic status, healthcare services are
necessary for the entire country (Comber et al., 2011). Because the healthcare sector relies
heavily on labor, the caliber and efficiency of its services are dependent on the caliber of
work produced by its personnel (Ullah et al., 2021). There is no disagreement that errors of
any kind in healthcare services are extremely sensitive and cannot be afforded since they may
result in the loss of human life (Swain & Kar, 2018). The workforce competency and
dedication determine the overall quality of healthcare services. The national health indicators
are intended to be improved, preserved, and promoted by the healthcare system. However, for
a variety of reasons, healthcare institutions are constantly under pressure (Ullah et al., 2017).
Due to the uneven growth in both the population and healthcare facilities, the demand for
healthcare services is constantly rising, especially in emerging nations (Ullah & Khan, 2020).
The prevalence of morbidity and disease is rather high, and healthcare facilities are not
always ideal in nations with limited or poorly managed resources. It is seen that hospitals are
overworked and taking on more patients than they can handle (Ullah & Ahmad, 2020).

Developing and improving hospitals and other healthcare organizations' social

sustainability is an intervention that appears to be helpful in these situations, particularly
given the setting (Sugiono et al., 2020). The social component of sustainability has received
the least attention from scholars, administrators, practitioners, and policymakers, who have
mostly concentrated on other aspects of sustainability, such as the economic and
environmental aspects (Rasmussen et al., 2017). To attain effectiveness and efficiency in the
service, it is imperative and currently necessary to investigate socially sustainable healthcare
models (Hussain et al., 2019). Various stakeholders are involved in healthcare organizations,
such as government agencies, pharmaceutical corporations, patients, suppliers, scientists, and
healthcare personnel (Brugha & Zwi, 1998). As the front-line providers of healthcare, both
clinical and non-clinical staff have a significant impact on the overall delivery of services
(Ullah et al., 2017).

Work-related safety concerns are widespread worldwide, they are more severe in
poorer nations (Ullah et al., 2017; Kortum et al., 2010). Many workers suffer psychological
or bodily harm while doing their occupations, and they then affect their families and close
social circles as a result (Pirzadeh & Lingard, 2017). Loss of dignity, melancholy, anxiety,
early aging, suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem, distrust in others, absenteeism, losing
autonomy, physical and musculoskeletal ailments, and injuries are possible outcomes
(Hammer et al., 2019). In addition to other job-related problems that are prevalent in all
businesses, healthcare work environments are more complicated, and healthcare personnel
are more likely to experience health-related problems (Ullah et al., 2017). Health risks at
hospitals include physical, chemical, biological, and ergonomic risks that exacerbate work-
related issues (Che Huei et al., 2020). As a result, workers anticipate that their workplace will
have safety procedures, safety programs, colleague and supervisor safety, and job safety. The
degree to which workers trust the safety system to work well affects not only how well they
perform but also how well they relate to the company (Mohd Fahmi, 2017).

Healthcare personnel, particularly those employed in hospitals, are comparatively

more vulnerable to concerns related to their health and their jobs (Ng et al., 2021). Workers
who have more work-related problems are more likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs and
intend to leave (Azeem et al., 2020). The pro-organizational behaviors that employees wish to
have reinforced by their organization are simply destroyed by these two attitudes.
Organizations must foster pleasant feelings in their workforce, as this is what typically
determines the sustainability of society.
 Keeping in view the relatively excessive work safety issues in healthcare settings and
the dominant and decisive role of human resources in the provision of healthcare services,
this study is designed to investigate employee safety at the workplace and its impact on
employee performance. Thus, this is an explanatory kind of study that aims to testify to our
assumption that work safety is one of the dominant factors in developing and improving
social sustainability in healthcare organizations. The reason it felt necessary to carry out this
study is that many studies found precarious work safety issues in healthcare settings within
similar contexts.

Objectives

1. To examine the relationship between employee safety practices and employee

performance.
2. To identify the key factors that contribute to a safe work environment.
3. To assess the impact of employee safety training on overall job satisfaction and
productivity.
4. To propose recommendations for enhancing employee safety measures and improving
performance outcomes in organizations.

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