Work Health and Safety
Discuss about the Workplace Violence Training Programs For Health Care Workers.
The human resource management is a strategic approach for the effective management of organizational members to help business to enhance productivity and gain competitive advantage. It describes management and development of members at an organization. The work health and safety is promoted at an organization for the efficient utilization of resources. In order to promote workplace health and safety, certain issues are faced by an organization. Smoking is the major issue taken in this report to discuss work health and safety. The consequences of health issues impact the performance of an organization. This report discusses the strategies to prevent smoking. These strategies comprise non-smoking policies, education and cessation programmes. Further, the recommendations are defined to control smoking which is considered the problem at workplaces.
It is the responsibility of the organization to provide workplace health and safety. It is required to provide information and training to the employees in order to ensure health and safety at the workplace. It helps to reduce mental and work-related illness. It equally reduces absence of employees. It promotes a positive health and safety culture. It encourages an environment to work safely without any risk to their health. The employees have also right to consult with employers about their health and safety matters (Winickoff. et.al. 2009). The common health and safety issue faced by the contemporary organizations is smoking. It is the most avoidable cause of disease, illness and health. Smoking decreases productivity and increases sick days.
The health implications of smoking seem to be endless on the members of an organization. Smoking causes disease such as cancer and damages to lungs, heart, veins etc. the smoking does not badly affect body but mind as well. It has negative effects on the work performance. The smoke of cigarette comprises 7000 chemicals and 60 cancer-causing chemicals. It causes damage to every part of the body. It also results in the long term diseases which affects the respiratory, cardiac and immune system. The smoking is highly known to damage physical health which is a major factor in cancer and cardiac diseases. It also declines the performance of the brain. It has been observed that smokers perform poorly and have bad mental ability overall. The smoking also leads to the dementia and high blood pressure risk (Siahpush, McNeill, Hammond & Fong, 2006).
The consequences of smoking are disastrous for the health of organizational members. The smokers suffer from various diseases which affects their stamina towards accomplishing tasks. The smokers are less likely to be hired by the organizations. They take more breaks for the smoking sessions which results in wastage of time. It also leads to wastage of resources. This time can be used to improve productivity of an organization. The smokers are not capable to contribute 100% effort towards the organization. As a result, they earn less when it’s compared to the non-smokers. It automatically reduces working hours per week (Albrecht, et. al. 2015).
Steps taken to prevent smoking
The smokers affect the organization as they take longer and frequent breaks than the arrangement set by the company. They have average performance only which leads to less productivity. The smokers are likely to have more sick days (Purcell, O’Rourke & Rivis, 2015). The smokers took an average of 11 more sick days than the non-smokers. The employees hired by a company who are smokers lead to more indirect costs as it creates more absenteeism. It results in productivity losses and increased early retirement due to illness.
There are no companies which implement smoke free policies at workplace as a part of work health and safety measurements. It should be considered that work health and safety does not only focus on the safety aspects but emphasis on the health aspects as well. Many organizations have adopted smoke free policies as a positive remark (Brewster, 2017). These improvements include increased productivity, decreased absenteeism among the former smokers when it’s compared to current smokers. Further it was seen that health impacts were immediate and dramatic. The heart attacks were found nearly halving. The steps which can be taken to stop smoking are given below:
The creation of non-smoking policy: The non-smoking policy at workplace can enforce restrictions on the smoking habits. This way the members can remain unaffected by the negative consequences of smoking. This way creating policy which restricts smoking can provide the following benefits:
- It helps in lowering indirect costs to the company.
- It is useful in keeping workplace healthy.
- It results in healthier employees and fewer sick days.
- The employees can more productive for the organization.
These policies are recommended to maintain a smoke-free environment which can prevent from the exposure to smoke. The smoke-free environment is promoted in order to save the environment from the emissions of smoke. These policies prohibit indoor smoking totally and the areas outside the entrance of the building. It is also recommended to remove ashtrays from the working areas. The data should be made available to employees on the harmful effects of smoking and e-cigarettes should be exposed more (Brewster, Chung & Sparrow, 2016). The smoke-free environment should be promoted by not allowing cigarettes at the workplace. It explains smoke-related health risks and benefits of quitting cigarettes. It should be ensured that employees are aware of occupational safety and health risks which are linked with their professional life.
Education on the benefits of quitting smoking: Another step which can be taken to maintain a healthy environment is to educate employees on the benefits of quitting smoking. The more focus is given on the persons who currently smoke. The seminars conducted especially to educate employees are highly effective. These seminars are also effective to educate non-smokers as the awareness can be spread regarding harmful effects of smoking and the health consequences. For instance, education aims at improving general health and wellbeing of employees. It has prevented occupational illness due to smoking. The educational programme has been practiced in various organizations; as a result, it protected workers from the hazards of smoking. It addressed the use of e-cigarettes to protect from the consequences of smoking (Polosa, et. al. 2016). It was observed that e-cigarettes declined more than 50% employees.
Recommendations to control smoking as a problem at the workplace
Smoking cessation programme: It is the best approach to improve the state of smoking in the organization. It is helpful in utilizing an existed structured programme to assist smokers in quitting smoking. The smoking concession programme is supported by offering eLearning onsite initiatives. This programme is recommended to implement in the organization because it has introduced measures for the effective protection from smoking at workplaces (Arbury, Zankowski, Lipscomb & Hodgson, 2017). It also includes measures for interrupting smoking and treatment for the smokers. These programmes offer benefit to the employees such as economic, health and legal. The health and economic value from these programmes can be evaluated from the improvement in employee’s health.
It has been observed that smokers earn 20% less money compared to the non-smokers. It is recommended to control smoking not only to increase productivity but to improve the health of employees.
There are various strategies and interventions to manage the impact on the members:
Warning labels: The warning labels on the cigarette packaging are introduced to control smoking which is a rising problem. The graphic health warnings have been also revealed to serve as a key source of health information for the consumers. It is helpful in increasing health knowledge and perceptions of risk. Australia is the first country to take initiative to introduce advertising on the packages regarding health warnings. It is a major initiative taken to control smoking for the sake of members (Romer, et. al. 2017).
Increase price of cigarettes: The strategies such as higher prices have been adapted to reduce consumption of cigarettes. The increased prices of cigarettes can be helpful in reducing trend of smoking among the members (Cheng, McBride & Phillips, 2015). It has been observed that higher prices of cigarettes have reduced smoking participation of members.
Mass media: The advertisement campaigns are helpful in preventing smoking especially in the case of individuals. The media channels used for the tobacco advertisement are TV, radio, billboards and more (Purce, 2014). These advertisements focus on the health consequences of smoking. The advertisements have a strong impact on the viewers. The anti-smoking campaigns are also promoted through the advertisements. The anti-smoking advertisement reduces the probability of future smoking.
Prevention efforts: The prevention efforts are launched to prevent smoking initiation. The tobacco industry ensures that effective strategies are suppressed. The anti-smoking material is made available to the individuals. It is helpful in preventing smoking. These efforts are considered effective in reducing sales of tobacco industry. It prevents smoking with the help of possible anti-smoking interventions (Halpern, et. al. 2015).
The strategies to manage impacts on the organizational members as a whole are given below:
Tobacco control interventions: The tobacco control inventions aim at reducing smoking initiation. These interventions comprise programmes, warning labels on the packaging, restricting on the advertisement of tobacco, increasing rate of taxes and restricting minors to purchase tobacco products. The aim of such programmes is demoralization of tobacco in the organizations (Phillips, et. al. 2015). The proper checking of workers should be promoted so that they do not carry tobacco products with them in the organizations.
School interventions: It is one of the initial approaches used by organizations to demoralize tobacco. The organizations enable training for the members to quit smoking as it is considered a big threat to the performance of employees. The interventions are made to resist temptations of employees to smoke. It is an effective programme designed to control consumption of tobacco by the employees in an organization.
Smoke-free policies: The smoke-free policies are promoted by the organizations to control smoking in the workplace. It promotes a number of laws and ordinances to promote smoke-free workplaces. It contributes to the denormalization of tobacco at workplaces. It protects employees from the exposure to tobacco (Lawn, Feng, Tsourtos & Campion, 2015). Various public laws have been associated with the adoption of the smoke-free environment.
Conclusion
The health and safety is such a big concern in the work environment. Smoking is such a big health and safety issue faced by the organizational members. Smoking has negative effects on the health of employees such as cancer and damages to lungs, heart, veins etc. Smoking not only affects body but mind as well. It has negative effects on the work performance of employees. The consequences of smoking can be revealed from the factors like employees are not able to contribute efforts towards organization due to health illness. As a result, an organization cannot enhance it’s productivity. The organizations also like to know the smoking habits of employees at the time of interview as smokers tend to take more sick leaves due to their deteriorating health. In this report work health and safety standards prevalent at organizations have been discussed. Smoking is the most common health issue which has been concluded. The steps as strategies have been discussed to stop or control smoking. These effective steps are non-smoking policies, education, and smoking cessation programmes. Finally, the recommendations are discussed for the smoking which is considered the problem at workplaces. It includes warning labels, mass media, prevention efforts; smoke-free policies and school intervention are effective recommendations to prevent smoking.
References
Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M., 2015. Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), pp.7-35.
Arbury, S., Zankowski, D., Lipscomb, J. and Hodgson, M., 2017. Workplace violence training programs for health care workers: an analysis of program elements. Workplace health & safety, 65(6), pp.266-272.
Brewster, C., 2017. The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy. In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Brewster, C., Chung, C. and Sparrow, P., 2016. Globalizing human resource management. Routledge.
Cheng, H.G., McBride, O. and Phillips, M.R., 2015. Relationship between knowledge about the harms of smoking and smoking status in the 2010 Global Adult Tobacco China Survey. Tobacco control, 24(1), pp.54-61.
Halpern, S.D., French, B., Small, D.S., Saulsgiver, K., Harhay, M.O., Audrain-McGovern, J., Loewenstein, G., Brennan, T.A., Asch, D.A. and Volpp, K.G., 2015. Randomized trial of four financial-incentive programs for smoking cessation. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(22), pp.2108-2117.
Lawn, S., Feng, Y., Tsourtos, G. and Campion, J., 2015. Mental health professionals’ perspectives on the implementation of smoke-free policies in psychiatric units across England. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 61(5), pp.465-474.
Phillips, J.A., Holland, M.G., Baldwin, D.D., Gifford-Meuleveld, L., Mueller, K.L., Perkison, B., Upfal, M. and Dreger, M., 2015. Marijuana in the workplace: Guidance for occupational health professionals and employers: Joint guidance statement of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Workplace health & safety, 63(4), pp.139-164.
Polosa, R., Morjaria, J.B., Caponnetto, P., Prosperini, U., Russo, C., Pennisi, A. and Bruno, C.M., 2016. Evidence for harm reduction in COPD smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes. Respiratory research, 17(1), p.166.
Purce, J., 2014. The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management. New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals), 67.
Purcell, K.R., O’Rourke, K. and Rivis, M., 2015. Tobacco control approaches and inequity—how far have we come and where are we going?. Health promotion international, 30(suppl_2), pp.ii89-ii101.
Romer, D., Ferguson, S.G., Strasser, A.A., Evans, A.T., Tompkins, M.K., Macisco, J., Fardal, M., Tusler, M. and Ellen, P., 2017. Effects of pictorial warning labels for cigarettes and quit-efficacy on emotional responses, smoking satisfaction, and cigarette consumption. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 52(1), pp.53-64.
Siahpush, M., McNeill, A., Hammond, D. and Fong, G.T., 2006. Socioeconomic and country variations in knowledge of health risks of tobacco smoking and toxic constituents of smoke: results from the 2002 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey. Tobacco control, 15(suppl 3), pp.iii65-iii70.
Winickoff, J.P., Friebely, J., Tanski, S.E., Sherrod, C., Matt, G.E., Hovell, M.F. and McMillen, R.C., 2009. Beliefs about the health effects of “thirdhand” smoke and home smoking bans. Pediatrics, 123(1), pp.e74-e79.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
