Question

Assignment-3

TOPIC: EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE ORGANIZATION

Organization officials have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that the workplace is free from unnecessary hazards. Employers hold responsibility for understanding what is necessary to keep workers safe from harm. Conditions surrounding the workplace must be secure for employee’s physical and mental health. As many organizations have implemented wellness program, that focus on smoking cessation, weight control, stress management, early diagnosis of health problems, prevention and education about life-style related and contagious illness. Wellness program can cut Employers health cost and lower absenteeism by preventing health related problems.

Reference: Textbook- DeCenzo, D. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2013). Human resource management , Chapter 13 Health and Safety.

Assignment Questions:

1. Describe the role of HR in offering Healthy and safe work environment to the workers. Also write the ways that Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA assist employers in creating a safer workplace. ( Marks:4)

2. Discuss the purpose and significance of Wellness Programs/Disease Management in the Organization. Support your answer with the example of two companies that provide these programs to their workers. (Marks 2.5)

3. If you’re HR Manager, how can you support your employees during the Public Health Emergency/Outbreak? Present your HR planning to run the organization effectively along with employees’ safety.(Marks: 3.5)

Answer 1

Answer:

1) HR offers health and safe work environments to all workers including manufacturing or office workers. The HR department will train and inform all new employees and update training through the years of employment for all employees. HR is trained on the OSHA rules and laws on health and safety and also HR is aware of legal costs or reputable damage to the corporation if employees are injured or verbally abused in the work environment. Furthermore, in the manufacturing business the employees are trained on how to handle equipment safely and what to do if there is an accident on the premises. For office workers, occupational safety is slightly different. An office work may trip on someone's purse and fall and sprang an ankle thus that is another type of injury on the job.

2) Wellness Programs/Disease Management programs are very important in the workplace. Wellness Programs might include physical activities to feel better both physical and mentally (ex. pilates classes, gym membership). Also, wellness programs also include online mental health professionals to assist with mental health questions that you may have for example work stress or family stress. Lastly, Disease Management is a good program to be proactive or to manage a disease. For example, if you provide less sugary snacks to employees then that will assist with lower sugar levels and hopefully less employees with diabetes. In conclusion, most big and medium size companies provide the above management programs including Amazon, Accenture etc. Therefore, wellness programs makes employees happy and healthy thus lower health related costs to the employer.

3) As an HR manager, I would make sure that our public health/emergency outbreak policies were up to date and reviewed by the legal department. Also, I would communicate to all levels of staff about the public health/emergency outbreak policies through meetings, training, information available online for reading. Most importantly, I would discuss with managers our emergency planning and then the managers would discuss and train the staff to be ready in case of an emergency. An emergency could be a fire, flood or an angry employee that threatens other employees on the job. Also, as an HR Manager during an emergency I would email or text out updates throughout the public health/emergency outbreak to make sure that all employees are up to date and are aware when the emergency is over and able to return to work.

Explanation:

I have worked many years in banking and other financial organizations and I have trained extensively on emergency preparations. Also, I was co-president on the Occupations Health & Safety board with a financial organization and I received training to acquire my certificate for health & safety from the government ministry.