FACTORS AFFECTING INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS ON EMPLOYEE MORALE



1.         Regulations
            Under pressure of accelerating change, regulations have evolved from detailed, perspective provisions and standards to more general requirements and obligations. Deregulation replaces the responsibility on the company management to develop their own performance indicators and to improve their management systems. This shift gives satisfying results for large companies who have the means to develop appropriate programmes, management tools, training etc. Another inconvenience is the difficulty for small industry to cope with this new type of regulation.
They often do not have the required resources, in terms of knowledge, time or financial means to develop adequate instruments. Specific support systems need to be developed, taking into account the size of these companies. The difficulty in elaborating these support instruments is that the experts in charge do not always speak the language of the target group. Though new regulations can help smaller industries to cope with safety and health issues, for example, the use of safety and health services that have to offer a certain (legally determined) quality of service to such industry. This type of procedure can bring expertise and practical solutions to the industry.

2.         Management commitment
            Successful accident prevention consists of strong management commitment, Good employee involvement and a well-structured management.
The management review is an opportunity to look forward to changes in business, structure, development of new products, the introduction of new technology or the introduction of new legislation.
Indeed, the established system for safety management includes hazard identification, risk assessment, implementation of prevention measure, monitoring and review. Therefore within this circle, continuous learning from industrial accidents and incidents is crucial, but often overlooked. If there are no records, there is no pressure for improvements. If there are no proper investigations, there is no learning from accidents and the continuous improvement cycle is broken.

3.         Globalization:
            Cooperation is sought through networking in order to maximize the benefits of the means deployed. Multinationals are in a position to export good practices established in one part of their operations to their operations in other countries or to set common safety standards  to be met in all of their operations. Similarly, they may specify safety requirements for their procurement and contracting activities throughout the company. Particular safety problems solved by one branch can also be communicated to other branches.
            Indeed, the consequences of globalization are usually mixed. Operating on a world scale can mean that industries have little morale or economic responsibility to countries where they choose to site production and yet these industries influence casts along shadow. Globalization also offers a potential platform for industrial accident prevention. The current trend seems to be that expert better corporate employee from global corporations than from local ones.

4.         Quality of supervision
            Corporate leaders that lack effective communication skills can be toxic to a business. Managers that don’t encourage open communication in the office never offer performance-related field back to their subordinates and don’t value diversity in the works place garner little respect from employees as their job satisfaction level drops.

5.         Quality of work Environment
            The office has truly become a home away from home for many employees and the quality of the work environment can either help inspire employees to perform at their optimal performance levels or cause them to look for another employer as they count the minutes of everyday until quitting time. An unsafe environment can wreak havoc on morale because employees may eventually feel that their employer doesn’t care enough about them to ensure their safety. Meanwhile, a safe, visually appealing and well-lit  environment can allow employees to focus exclusively on performance without constantly worrying about how an industrial accident might boost their health care costs.

6.         Quality of Incentives
            While the promise of making more money can be an obvious morale boaster, several studies have shown that the existence of other non-monetary workplace perks can help boast job satisfaction.

7.         Safety Ethics: Safety ethics can be sub-divided into;

(i)        Company Values;
            A good safety culture is a work environment where all members of the organization share a high safety ethic. Either fatalism or production-first thinking provokes the negligence of hazards in a bad safety culture. Top management commitment is essential to promote a safety culture. Companies that embrace social values and act conscientiously according to their mission statement seem to generate a positive mentality and significant involvement on the part of their employees. A coherent policy starting with a mission statement and realized through concrete incentives, programmes and actions within and outside the company can mobilize employee commitment. This influences, in a positive way, the safety culture as a whole and even the individual risk behaviour of the employees.

(ii)       Community approach:
            Safety efforts in society are usually organized separately according to life’s time segments. Examples, work leisure, home and traffic. Yet the national and local safety culture affects all the segments.
            The idea of a community approach is to change the mentality of the entire community in various accident protection sectors. It should not only be limited to the professional environment but also broadened to private life, domestic life, leisure activities and education at school in order to improve attitudes to safety.
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