What is occupational health and safety?
Occupational health and safety is a defined plan of action designed to prevent accidents and injuries that could occur in the workplace. Each organization draws up a policy that clearly states what the employers are responsible for when it comes to the health and safety of their employees.
The policy should include what type of possible hazards there may be within the workplace and the training employees will get around safety protocols. Occupational health and safety policies help organizations define what they are responsible for versus what employees are responsible for in case of an accident or injury on the job.
Canada’s occupational health and safety regulations
In Canada, it is required that organizations set up an occupational health and safety policy. The policy should outline the responsibilities of the employer and employee. Employees have the responsibility to take care of their own health and safety as well as not put any colleagues in harm’s way.
The regulations require that employers know that workers in Canada have the following rights with respect to occupational health and safety.
- Right to know: workers have a right to be informed about possible hazards in the workplace and how to protect themselves against them.
- Right to participate: employees have the right to participate in identifying and correcting any occupational health and safety concerns.
- Right to refuse: employees have the right to refuse any work they deem as unsafe.
These three rights are important for employers across Canada to know so that they can create programs or policies that make sure these rights are being protected.
One of the biggest obligations of employers in Canada with respect to occupational health and safety is to provide information and training to their employees. Employees are required to have the necessary information, training and supervision in order to perform their jobs safely.
This includes:
- training all employees on all workplace safety procedures
- training workers on how to safely work any tools or equipment used on the job
- awareness of any known or foreseeable workplace hazards
- when possible, training sessions should include documentation
By keeping the employees’ rights and your responsibilities as the employer in mind, you should be able to create a successful occupational health and safety program.
Benefits of an occupational health and safety program
When you create a safe working environment for your staff, the entire organization benefits. Making sure your occupational health and safety program is up to date can be beneficial in the following ways:
- There is a reduced risk of accidents or injuries due to an unsafe environment.
- Improved efficiency and productivity can be seen due to less absenteeism from accidents or injuries.
- Due to the safe environment, workers know you care for their wellbeing and there are improved employee relations and better morale.
- With fewer injuries or accidents there is a reduced cost from workers needing to miss work.
Having a well-rounded occupational health and safety program will not only help create a safe environment for workers, but it can also help the efficiency of the entire organization.
Types of hazards in the workplace
There are many things that can create an unsafe working environment. Making sure your occupational health and safety program is well-rounded is important if you want your employees to stay away from injury, accidents, illness or mental illness.
The following are different types of hazards that could negatively affect the occupational health of your employees:
- Physical hazards from the working environment. Anything that may cause an accident or injury such as tripping from loose wiring.
- Biological hazards from anything that can cause diseases. This can include mould or fungi on the premises or poor air circulation causing the spread of colds or the flu.
- Chemical hazards are either from chemicals, you work with or cleaning products. This can be hazardous for people with respiratory issues like asthma.
- Ergonomic hazards from poorly designed workspaces. This can cause anything from muscle and joint pain to repetitive task injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Psychological hazards from a toxic work environment, workplace bullies or being overworked. These can cause mental health issues such as depression or anxiety.
Related: How to Identify and Prevent Workplace Bullying
With the above examples, you can see why occupational health and safety are so important as without thinking about these issues, your employees can start needing more time off due to injury, accident or illness.
Ways to promote occupational health and safety in the workplace
As an employer, it is important to always have the occupational health and safety of your workers in your mind. By performing the following tasks regularly, you may promote the health and safety of your workers.
- Keep up to date. Make sure to review your policies and keep your procedures up to date every year. Canada occupational health and safety rules indicate that any workplace with more than 300 workers, must have a health and safety committee that can do this for you. Be proactive even without 300 workers, you can create a committee or volunteer position that will make sure safety procedures are up to date.
- Proper training. All staff members that need to be are trained on any safety procedures they might need to know. This means that everyone knows possible hazards within the workplace and how to use equipment safely. Paying particular attention that new staff has been properly trained and answering any questions they might have may increase the efficiency of your health and safety program.
- Know your emergency procedures. Making sure everyone knows what to do in case of an emergency is important for occupational health and safety. For example, if there is an accident, who calls 911? Have any safety instructions, such as in case of a fire, clearly visible and up to date. Carrying out regular fire safety checks keeps staff up to date and aware of the procedure.
- Create an ergonomic workplace. Making sure workers have an ergonomic workplace can reduce the number of injuries that happen on the job. If workers are comfortable at their workstations, they are less likely to injure themselves which is always something you want to avoid.
- Don’t forget mental health. In order to get the best out of your workers, you want them to have good mental health. If the workplace becomes toxic for example, workers might be more apt to call in sick or leave to work at another company. By keeping your employees’ mental health in mind, you are contributing to a productive efficient workplace.
By actively participating in creating a workplace with good occupational health and safety, you are contributing to employees being happy and providing quality work.
Ensuring the health and safety of your workers is one of a manager’s main concerns. Making sure that workers can operate at optimum levels ensures that work is done efficiently and quickly, meaning that constantly thinking of ways to improve the lives of your workers may prove to be beneficial for your team. By building a robust occupational health and safety program in your organization you can make sure that your employees continue to do the high-quality work that you require.
