Chapter 14 Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is a strategic importance of occupational health and safety?
Investment in disability management and proactive wellness programs create measurable bottom-line returns
What is OHS legislation and what is its purpose?
Laws intended to protect the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related accidents and illnesses
Purpose:
These laws fall into three categories:
general health and safety rules
rules for specific industries (e.g. mining)
rules related to specific hazards (e.g. asbestos)
What is an occupational injury?`
Any cut, fracture, sprain or amputation resulting from a workplace accident.
What is an occupational illness?
Any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one resulting from an occupational injury, caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with employment.
What are some responsibilities of employers for occupational health and safety?
Due diligence- employers are responsible for taking every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of their workers
Specific duties of the employer include:
filing government accident reports
maintaining records
ensuring that safety rules are enforced
posting safety notices and legislative information
What is supervisor’s role in occupational health and safety?
most jurisdictions impose a personal duty on supervisors to ensure that workers comply with occupational health and safety regulations
specific obligation on supervisors to advise and instruct workers about safety, to ensure that all reasonable precautions have been taken to provide for the safety of all employees, and to minimize risk of injuries or illness
safety-minded managers must aim to instill in their workers the desire to work safely
What are some responsibilities of the employee in terms of OHS?
Employees are responsible for taking reasonable care to protect their own health and safety and, in most cases, that of their coworkers
Specific requirements include wearing protective clothing and equipment and reporting any contravention of the law or regulations
Employees have three basic rights:
the right to know about workplace safety hazards
the right to participate in the OHS process
the right to refuse unsafe work
What is a Joint health and safety committee?
The JHSC should provide a non-adversarial atmosphere where management and labour can work together to ensure a safe and healthy workplace
Committees are usually required to consist of between 2 and 12 members, at least half of whom must represent workers. Applies to all companies with over 20 employees.
In small workplaces, one health and safety representative may be sufficient.
How OHS is enforced?
In all Canadian jurisdictions, occupational health and safety law provides for government inspectors to periodically carry out safety inspections of workplace
Penalties may consist of fines and/or jail terms
The Criminal Code includes a criminal offence commonly known as “corporate killing,” which imposes criminal liability on “all persons” who direct the work of other employees and fail to ensure an appropriate level of safety in the workplace.
What is the legislation for the control of toxic substances?
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
(WHMIS) legislation has three components:
labelling of hazardous material containers
material safety data sheets (MSDS)
employee training
What are the three causes of accidents?
Chance/Occurrences(beyond management’s control)
Unsafe Conditions
Unsafe Acts
What are some unsafe conditions?
improperly guarded equipment defective equipment hazardous procedures unsafe storage improper illumination improper ventilation
What are some unsafe acts?
throwing materials
operating or working at unsafe speeds
rendering safety devices inoperative
using unsafe equipment or using equipment unsafely
taking unsafe positions under suspended loads
lifting improperly
distracting, teasing, abusing, startling, horseplay, quarrelling
How to prevent accidents?
reduce unsafe conditions reduce unsafe acts selection testing top-management commitment positive reinforcement
What are some factors that affect work-related accidents?
Job (some inherently dangerous) Work Schedule (fatigue) Psychological Climate (stress)
What are employee wellness programs?
Proactive approach to employee health and well being Management strategy to achieve measurable outcomes related to productivity, cost reduction, recruitment/retention, and profit Wellness initiatives often include: stress management nutrition and weight management smoking cessation programs tai chi heart health physical fitness programs ergonomics
What are some OHS issues and challenges?
substance abuse job stress repetitive strain injuries workplace toxins workplace smoking influenza pandemic violence at work
What is the legislation on substance abuse?
Alcohol/drug abuse considered a disability (human rights law) vs. employers’ due diligence requirement (OHS law)
Substance abuse testing only legal if:
test is rationally connected to performance of the job
test is adopted in honest and good-faith belief that it is necessary for fulfillment of work-related purpose
test is reasonably necessary to the accomplishment of the work-related purpose
Random substance abuse testing is illegal
Employers can:
forbid drugs/alcohol in workplace
require random drug testing only for “safety-sensitive” jobs
require mandatory drug testing “for cause” or “post-incident” in certain circumstances
Positive test results must result in accommodation of the employee’s disability
What is job stress and its consequences?
Human Consequences of Job Stress include:
Psychological / emotional
Behavioral
Physical
mental health issues are the leading cause of both short and long-term disability claims
Eustress==good stress
What are sources of job stress?
Environmental Factors high demand job high levels of mental and physical effort Personal Factors type A personalities patience tolerance for ambiguity self-esteem health and exercise work and sleep patterns non-job-related problems like divorce, depression, work/family time conflict
What are the ways to reduce job stress?
Employee Can:
get more sleep, eat better, take vacation, meditate, find a more suitable job, get counselling, organize each day’s activities
Employer/Supervisor Can:
offer a EAP
monitor each employee’s performance to identify symptoms of stress and then inform the person of organizational remedies
ensure fair treatment
permit employee to have more control over his or her job
What is a burnout?
The total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal
How to avoid burnout?
break patterns get away from it all periodically reassess goals think about work reduce stress
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refers to a series of symptoms that can develop after exposure to an actual or perceived threat of death or serious injury, or after a threat of injury (including physical and emotional) to self or others
PTSD can be triggered by an event or series of events (workplace related or not), and is prevalent in specific professions
