Health, Safety and Welfare – HRM
If you take a look at the operations of human resource management, you can see welfare, safety, and health are related to each other. Not only individually, but also on the side of development. It was in the 20th century when the development effects were seen on both employees and company. The welfare was mostly on the industrial side. Those owners, who were enlightened, slowly made necessary changes to enhance their employees working conditions.It was an initiative that was taken by themselves.
Another of the voluntary measures that employers took was related to ‘human relations school.’ As per this, the highlighted work was that of Elton Mayo who worked in Western Electric Company (at Hawthorne plant). It was between 1936 and 1955 that a specific counselling programme for employees was prevalent.
While its operational period, it was found out that this was advantageous to employees, on both their mental and physical health. When other safety and welfare provisions were considered, that too on the working hours of children at the beginning of 1840, it did come to recognition in the form of human resource function.
Again there were certain researches, whose study gave away the information related to 41% companies having a separate safety officer in the company. This person comes under the ranges of human resource utility. In the absence of such safety officers, responsibilities of safety and health issues were mostly in this department.
With the initiation of Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the legislation related to safety and health legislation has become highly widespread. This was because of the regulation surge from human resource department. Here all the legal obligations of a company are seen and handled by advising managers.
If you go through the point of view of an employee, the importance of these3 aspects are crystal clear to them. This is because their futures and lives are at prone to risk. So in the recent years, you will see that trade unions have given major importance to safety and health areas. They also have widespread the requirements of health and safety with the help of digital media.
A special case was highlighted by human resource management press confronting the various problems of safety and health and highlighted more by ‘Health and Safety Executive campaigns’ to raise alertness.
Based on 3 theories was the case in question was highlighted.
- It becomes extremely difficult for a company to hire, train, retain and influence their staff is their welfare and safety related reputation is not so good
- Lawsuits had to be handled and compensation has to be provided to the employees who become ill or receive major injuries during their working hours.
- In case an employee is injured or ill because of their work, it can be considered for avoidable absence.
If we consider about the severe injury cases that UK employee has suffered, then you will find the percentage to fluctuate every year. It is after 1970 that the injury percentage level has declined, still, if we consider the overall percentage, the level has not dropped at all.
Nearly 226 people lost their lives as industrial accident case in UK. This number was of April 2003. Again, another survey report highlighted the fact that the estimated number of people dying because of various accidents in their company is more than 6000 on a yearly basis. Health and Safety Executive also published their report that annually,more than 1 million people have to bear the brunt of work and stress related illness.
A shocking aspect was seen in the UK in the year 2001 and 2002 in the form of missing working days. The number of days was precisely 40.1 million. The main areas of physical and mental health issues in this case are:
- Illness
- Injuries
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Stress
The treatment amount that a company has to bear for their employees on an annual basis is more than a couple of billion pounds. This amount is in addition to the early retirement amount. Just because of this, there were nearly 30000 workers who were forced to leave their work. Now, if the companies took few correct measures and deducted the incident numbers, a majority wouldn’t have to give their jobs, and a huge amount would have been saved.
It is only because of the existing conflict between the employees and the employers for welfare and health issues that this issue hasn’t been solved till now. In 1995, Leach restated a statement made by a safety officer.
Links of Previous Main Topic:-
- Career development
- Strategic aspects of employee relations
- Recognition and consultation
- Health safety and welfare
- Definitions of health safety and welfare
Links of Next HR Management Topics:-
