Safety polices at work place The meaning of safety policies Safety is defined as "Protection of physical health of people in the

organisation and prevention of work related injuries and accidents." The safety awareness programmes are very important to industrial employees. The safety rules need to be laid down and be enforced by every organization. Safety is primarily the responsibility of the management. This responsibility should rest on the shoulders of all cadres of management; such as plant managers, maintenance engineers, supervisors, foremen and safety managers. Baba and Jamal (2009) Safety measures prevent accidents and ensure regular flow of work. In turn, it helps, to increase not only the workers morale but also productivity of the organisation without fear unless otherwise safe working conditions are provided. The employer has primary responsibility to provide or arrange such type of environment. The main causes of accidents may be Human causes like: age, education, health condition, experience, psychological factors, social factors etc., or Technical Causes like, hazardous arrangement, defective equipment, poor house keeping etc., or Environment causes like, poor lighting and ventilation, congestion and over-crowding, humidity, long hours of work and high speed working machines. Shanmukha Rao. P (2006) Two types of ratios are used to measure industrial safety i.e., Frequency rate and Severity rate. The frequency rate can be expressed as the lost-time due to accidents per million man-hours worked; the severity rate is the number of days lost due to accident per million man-hours worked. According to National Safety Council USA, prevention of accidents depends upon 3E's Engineering, Education and Enforcement. The job should be engineered for safety, employees should be educated in safety procedures and safety rules should be properly enforced. Shanmukha Rao. P (2006) Safety policies at work place

Indicators of Quality of work life.

The concept of quality of work life Quality of work life (QWL) has its roots in scientific management advocated by F.W. Taylor way back in 1940's. The mechanical approach or quantitative approach that scientific management assured gave way to the frustration of workers which led to human relations movement and later socio-technical movement which is the basis for today's Quality of Work Life. Thus, the evaluation of the concept QWL was mainly in three phases- Scientific management, human relations movement and finally socio-technical movement. The sociotechnical system advocates such an organizational design which ensures high quality of work life. Most of the organizations are interested in enhancing employee's QWL and generally try to instill the feeling of security, equality, pride and prestige, among its employees. For this purpose procedures and policies are framed to make the work less routine and more rewarding for the employees. These procedures or policies provide autonomy, recognition, good working condition and conferring awards in appreciation of work done etc. QWL dimensions are broadly divided into: Classical dimensions and Contemporary

dimensions. Classical dimensions include physical working conditions, employees' welfare, employee assistance, job factors and financial factors whereas, Contemporary dimensions include collective bargaining, industrial safety and health, grievance redressal procedure, quality circles, work-life balance, workers' participation in management etc. Industrial Safety is one of the contemporary factors, which influence the QWL of the employees. Indicators of QWL Various authors and researchers have proposed indicatirs of quality of working life which include a wide range of factors. Selected models are reviewed below.

Ediwin B. Flippo (2003) drew attention to what they described as psychological growth needs as relevant to the consideration of Quality of working life. Several such needs were identified :Skill variety, Task Identity, Task significance, Autonomy and Feedback. They suggested that such needs have to be addressed if employees are to experience high quality of working life. In contrast to such theory based models, Tripathi (2008) more pragmatically identified the essential components of quality of working life as basic extrinsic job factors of wages, hours and working conditions, and the intrinsic job notions of the nature of the work itself. He suggested that a number of other aspects could be added, including : individual power, employee participation in the management, fairness and equity, social support, use of ones present skills, self development, a meaningful future at work, social relevance of the work or product, effect on extra work activities. Tripathi (2008) suggested that relevant quality of working life concepts may vary according to organisation and employee group. M.Ekramul Hoque and Alinoor Rahman, (2009), in an investigation of quality of working life, considered a range of apparently relevant factors, including : work involvement, intrinsic job motivation, higher order need strength, perceived intrinsic job characteristics, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, happiness, and self-rated anxiety. They discussed a range of correlations

derived from their work, such as those between work involvement and job satisfaction, intrinsic job motivation and job satisfaction, and perceived intrinsic job characteristics and job satisfaction. In particular, M.Ekramul Hoque and Alinoor Rahman, (2009) found evidence for a moderate association between total job satisfaction and total life satisfaction and happiness, with a less strong, but significant association with self-rated anxiety. Thus, whilst some authors have emphasised the workplace aspects in quality of working life, others have identified the relevance of personality factors, psychological well being, and broader concepts of happiness and life satisfaction. Factors more obviously and directly affecting work have, however, served as the main focus of attention, as researchers have tried to tease out the important influences on quality of working life in the workplace.

DR. J.Venkatachalam and DR. A.Velayudhan, (2009) suggested that quality of working life was associated with satisfaction with wages, hours and working conditions, describing the basic elements of a good quality of work life as : safe work environment, equitable wages, equal employment opportunities and opportunities for advancement. Baba and Jamal (2009) listed what they described as typical indicators of quality of working life, including: job satisfaction, job involvement, work role ambiguity, work role conflict, work role overload, job stress, organisational commitment and turn-over intentions. Baba and Jamal also explored routinisation of job content, suggesting that this facet should be investigated as part of the concept of quality of working life. Some have argued that quality of working life might vary between groups of workers. For example, Ellis and Pompli (2002) identified a number of factors contributing to job dissatisfaction and quality of working life in nurses, including: poor working environments, resident aggression, workload, innability to deliver quality of care preferred, balance of work and family, shiftwork, lack of involvement in decision making, professional isolation, lack of recognition, poor relationships with supervisor/peers, role conflict, lack of opportunity to learn new skills. In summary, where it has been considered, authors differ in their views on the core constituents of Quality of Working Life (Ellis and Pompli (2002)) It has generally been agreed however that Quality of Working Life is conceptually similar to well-being of employees but differs from job satisfaction which solely represents the workplace domain Baba and Jamal (2009) Quality of Working Life is not a unitary concept, but has been seen as incorporating a hierarchy of perspectives that not only include work-based factors such as job satisfaction, satisfaction with pay and relationships with work colleagues, but also factors that broadly reflect life satisfaction and general feelings of well-being (Danna & Griffin, 2004). More recently, work-related stress and the relationship between work and non-work life domains (Loscocco & Roschelle, 2003) have also been identified as factors that should conceptually be included in Quality of Working Life. The relationship between safety policy at work and quality of work life of staff

Workplace safety is a huge issue for every company. Companies must focus on safety training to keep their employees safe, and their businesses successful. Every employee needs to know the importance of workplace safety. Employees should feel safe and comfortable in their working environment. A comprehensive safety training policy will ensure you that employees know the rules and regulations of workplace safety. This will in return make the quality of work life of the employees better. Ellis and Pompli (2002). These findings were carried out in 2002 and as such may seem to be obsolete 10 years later on.

According to Danna & Griffin, (2004), a safety training policy gives employees the knowledge they need to complete their jobs while remaining safe at all times. Safety training policies also gives them the confidence they need to work without fear of safety. The knowledge an employee gains from a safety training program is key to a safe workplace- what do in an emergency, recognizing an unsafe situation, and specialized safety information for their particular job. Loscocco & Roschelle, (2003).

C.K. Podder, (2007) asserts that the company also benefits from an employee safety training policies. Employees who have completed a safety training program can communicate their safety knowledge, making for a safe workplace- and it shows. An effective safety training program will lower incident and accident rates, thus producing higher productivity. Ediwin B. Flippo (2003). Employees who have completed a safety training course are likely to feel much safer, and cared for by their employees. This raises company morale- again, raising productivity. Tripathi (2008).

Safety policies also protect the company. Gokakar (2001). A safety training program is real and tangible- something that shows you have adequately trained your employees in workplace safety. A safety training policy can give employees peace of mind that you really have protected your employees by giving them the knowledge they need to protect themselves.

Safety policies promote awareness, which is key to workplace safety. Online or cd-rom based safety training allows employers to emphasize workplace safety, and allows for the flexibility needed in todays business. Online and cd-rom based safety training programs will make certain that all of employees are trained thoroughly in workplace safety- without costing you a fortune

or interfering with necessary business operations. Safety training gives employers and employees employees the safety knowledge needed for a safe and successful business. According to H.W. Heinrich (2006), a comprehensive safety training policy is necessary in todays competitive global marketplace. The employer's comprehensive safety program, including training, protocols, and documentation, serve to protect the individual employee. When the employee follows the standards of safety maintained by the organization, he performs a job in a safe working environment. C.B. Mamoria, (2003). The employee is also protected in many organizations (with more than the legally defined number of employees) by worker's compensation insurance. In the event of injury or death, the employee or his beneficiaries will receive compensation for losses sustained on the job under available worker's compensation benefits.

Some authors state that a safe workplace benefits everyone. Mirza S. Saiyadain (2004). Employers and employees work together to ensure all workers are protected from injury. They enjoy the possible backup protection of worker's compensation insurance in the event of a workplace accident or exposure. When all employees and managers work to follow safety protocols and complete appropriate documentation, the entire organization maintains a workplace culture of safety. Getting employees involved in safety procedures is an excellent way of installing accountability and compliance. C.S. Venkata Ratnam and B. K. Srivastava (2004). It is also an important part of any safety program. Encouraging employees to have safety committees, set safety goals and be a part of safety inspections are all good ways to get employees engaged and interested in this issue. Employees should feel comfortable talking about safety with co-workers and managers. Workplace safety posters should be placed in an area which is visible; and would serve as a reminder. The things they should be constantly reminding of are safety and health while at work. Safety should be the primary concern of any organization, so workplace safety posters are an extremely big help. They assist to prevent any kind of accident from happening by third party or due to human error. This is the long run improves the quality of work life of the employees. C.S. Venkata Ratnam and B. K. Srivastava (2004)