Learning Objectives

2. Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: State the purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and discuss its major provisions. List the three major causes of accidents in the workplace. Define frequency rate and severity rate. Offer several suggestions for promoting safety in the workplace. Discuss the Hazard Communication rule. Differentiate between stress and burnout.

3. Learning Objectives (cont.) Name several work-related consequences of alcohol and drug abuse. Offer several guidelines for implementing a drug-testing program. Discuss the legal requirements for terminating an employee with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Explain the three basic types of employee assistance programs (EAPs). Explain what work/life programs and wellness programs are. List several specific things an organization can do to help reduce violence in its workplace.

4. Occupational Safety and Health Act • Occupational Safety and Health Act • Federal law enacted in 1970 to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for every working person.

5. Occupational Safety and Health Act • General-duty clause • Clause in the Occupational Safety and Health Act covering those situations not addressed by specific standards; in essence, it requires employers to comply with the intent of the act.

6. OSHA Responsibilities Encourage employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and to implement new safety and health management systems or improve existing programs Develop mandatory job safety and health standards and enforce them through worksite inspections, employer assistance, and, sometimes, by imposing citations, penalties, or both

7. OSHA Responsibilities Promote safe and healthful work environments through cooperative programs, partnerships, and alliances Establish responsibilities and rights for employers and employees to achieve better safety and health conditions Support the development of innovative ways of dealing with workplace hazards

8. OSHA Responsibilities Support the development of innovative ways of dealing with workplace hazards Establish requirements for employers to keep records of injury and illness and, monitor certain occupational illnesses Establish training programs to increase the competence of occupational safety and health personnel

9. OSHA Responsibilities Provide technical and compliance assistance and training and education to help employers reduce worker accidents and injuries Work in partnership with states that operate their own occupational safety and health programs Support the Consultation Programs offered by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands

10. OSHA Standards OSHA issues standards for a wide variety of workplace hazards including toxic substances, harmful physical agents, electrical hazards, fall hazards, hazardous wastes, infectious diseases, fire and explosion hazards, dangerous atmospheres, and machine hazards

11. OSHA Standards • Federal Register • The official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations.

12. Workplace Inspections • Marshall v. Barlow’s, Inc. • 1978 Supreme Court decision that ruled that employers are not required to admit OSHA inspectors onto their premises without a search warrant; • also ruled that probable cause needed to obtain the search warrant is much less than that required in a criminal matter.

13. Inspection Priorities Imminent danger Catastrophes and fatal accidents resulting in the death of any employee or the hospitalization of three or more employees Employee complaints involving imminent danger or an employee violation that threatens death or serious harm

14. Inspection Priorities (cont.) Referrals from other individuals, agencies, organizations, or the media Planned, or programmed, inspections in industries with a high number of hazards and associated injuries Follow-ups to previous inspections

15. Types of OSHA Violations Table 16.1

16. Reporting/Record-Keeping Requirements All employers must report to OSHA within eight hours of learning about: the death of any employee from a work-related incident or the in-patient hospitalization of three or more employees as a result of a work-related incident. Also, employers must report all fatal heart attacks

17. Reporting/Record-Keeping Requirements Three forms required: OSHA Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses OSHA Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injures and Illnesses OSHA Form 301, Injury and Illness Incident Report.

18. Reporting/Record-Keeping Requirements • Forms 300, 300A • Forms for recording all occupational injuries and illnesses. • Each occurrence must be recorded within six working days from the time the employer learns of the accident or illness

19. Reporting/Record-Keeping Requirements • Form 301 • Form that requires much more detail about each injury or illness. • Must be completed within six working days from the time the employer learns of an occupational injury or illness.

20. Causes of Accidents

21. Unsafe Conditions in theWork Environment Table 16.2

22. How to Measure Safety • Frequency rate • Ratio that indicates the frequency with which disabling injuries occur. • Disabling injuries • Work-related injuries that cause an employee to miss one or more days of work.

23. How to Measure Safety Figure 16.1 • Severity rate • Ratio that indicates the length of time injured employees are out of work.

24. Organizational Safety Programs Four basic elements are present in most successful safety programs: It must have the genuine (rather than casual) support of top and middle management It must be clearly established that safety is a responsibility of operating managers A positive attitude toward safety must exist and be maintained One person or department should be in charge of safety program and responsible for its operation

25. Promoting Safety Make the work interesting Establish a safety committee Feature employee safety contests Publicize safety statistics Use bulletin boards and the company intranet Encourage employees to have high expectations for safety Periodically hold safety training programs and meetings

26. Establishing a Safety Training Program Assess training needs by examining accident and injury records and talking to department heads about their perceived needs Gauge level of employees’ safety skills Design a program to solve the program Get line managers on board Evaluate the program’s effectiveness Fine-tune the safety process

27. Employee Health The U.S. Department of Labor currently uses five major categories to classify occupational illnesses: occupational skin diseases or disorders, respiratory conditions due to toxic agents, poisoning (systemic effects of toxic materials), hearing loss, and all other occupational illnesses

28. Hazard Communications • Right-to-know rule • purpose of the rule is to ensure that employers and employees know what chemical hazards exist in their workplace and how to protect themselves against those hazards

29. Hazard Communications • Hazard Communication Standard • Standard issued by OSHA in the early 1980s that established uniform requirements to ensure that the hazards of all chemicals imported into, produced, or used in the workplace are evaluated and that the results of these evaluations are transmitted to affected employers and exposed employees.

30. Stress in the Workplace • Stress • Mental and physical condition that results from a perceived threat of danger (physical or emotional) and the pressure to remove it.

31. Common Sources and Suggested Causes of Job-Related Stress Table 16.3

32. Burnout • Burnout • Occurs when work is no longer meaningful to a person; can result from stress or a variety of other work-related or personal factors.

33. Burnout Myth 1: Burnout is just a new-fangled notion that gives lazy people an excuse not to work Myth 2: As long as people really enjoy their work they can work as long and hard as they want and never experience burnout Myth 3: Individuals know when they are burning out and, when they do, all they need to do is take off for a few days or weeks and then they’ll be as good as new

34. Burnout Myth 4: Individuals who are physically and psychologically strong are unlikely to experience burnout Myth 5: Job burnout is always job-related

35. The Path to Professional Burnout Figure 16.2

36. Alcoholism and Drug Abuse • Compared to most employees, substance abusers • Are late 3 times more often • Request time off 2.2 times more often • Have 2.5 times as many absences of eight days or more • Use 3 times the normal level of sick benefits • Are 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim • Are involved in accidents 3.6 times more often

37. Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Does not strike any particular group Approximately 80 percent of all adult binge and heavy drinkers are employed Estimated that economic loss to employer of an alcoholic employee amounts to 25 percent of the employee’s wages Compared to nonalcoholic employees, alcoholics incur twice the rate of absenteeism caused by illness Alcoholics are also two to three time more likely to be involved in a work-related accident Some estimate that as many as 50 percent of all problem employees in industry are actually alcoholics

38. Drug Testing Establish a routine, uniform, organizationwide policy for substance abuse and adhere to it in a consistent and nondisciplinary manner Assume employees are drug-free until proven otherwise Make negative test scores a bona fide occupational qualification whenever possible

39. Drug Testing Include testing in uniform preemployment agreements and have them signed by new employees Train supervisors to detect and refer problem employees for testing Use a high-quality type of urinalysis, not just the cheapest method

40. Drug Testing Use monitored laboratories that employ blind testing to ensure the integrity of the testing procedures Use appropriate supervision and custody arrangements to ensure that the samples tested are valid

41. Drug Testing Require tested employees to list all legal over-the-counter drugs they are taking at the time of testing Develop and maintain profiles of well-employee urinalysis results that can later be used for comparative purposes Keep all results confidential

42. Potential Benefi t of AIDSEducation in the Workplace Table 16.4

43. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) • Employee assistance programs (EAPs) • Company-sponsored programs designed to help employees with personal problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, depression, anxiety, domestic trauma, financial problems, and other psychiatric/medical problems.

44. Organization Involvement • Studies show that EAPs help in reducing • Absenteeism • On-the-job accidents and grievances • Increased workers’ compensation premiums • Increased sickness and accident benefits • Increased trips to infirmary

45. Ten Critical Elements of an EAP Table 16.5

46. Wellness Programs

47. Specific Company Benefi tsof Wellness Programs Table 16.6

48. Violence in the Workplace Workplace violence includes homicides, physical attacks, rapes, aggravated and other assaults, all forms of harassment, and any other act that creates a hostile environment The FBI estimates that each year 1 million people in the United States are exposed to some form of workplace violence.

49. Avoiding Violent Incidents Hire carefully, but realistically Draw up a plan and involve employees in it As part of the plan, adopt a “zero tolerance” policy Enlist the aid of professionals – with an eye on the cost