Summary
Why “Safety, Health and Employee wellbeing”?
Good safety, health and wellbeing practices
contribute to:
• Employee morale
• Lower levels of stress
• Compliancy to legislation
• Greater commitment to the organization’s
goals & objectives
Increased awareness of Good safety, health and
wellbeing practices. Why?
Considerable costs associated with accidents and
unsafe working behaviors
Safety Culture
• Safety culture is a subset of organizational culture, which is thought to affect employee
attitudes and behaviour in relation to an organization’s on-going health and safety
performance
• Management has a crucial role in promoting and demonstrating a positive organizational
safety culture. How?
• Clear definition of the culture that is desired and what is required of everyone to
achieve it
• Setting realistic and achievable goals
• Good knowledge and understanding of health and safety throughout the
organization
• Visible leadership and commitment from all levels in the organization
How to create a safety culture?
1. Define safety and set goals
2. Empower employees to make safety a priority
3. Make safety more than just a slogan
, Why accidents occur?
• Beside the moral obligation to provide a safe place of work for employees, there is also an
economic incentive to minimize the likelihood of accidents
• Private industry employers reported 2.8 million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses in
2019 (USA)
• 2018 serious non-fatal workplace injuries amounted to nearly $60 billion per year
Indirect cost of accidents
1. Safety administration costs
2. Legal costs
3. Cost of time assisting the injured employee
4. Replacement costs
5. Training replacement workers
6. Damage to plants and machinery
7. Increase in insurance premiums
8. Low morale amongst employees
9. Increased absenteeism
Health
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity. (World Health Organization)
Employee wellbeing
Employee wellbeing has been described as a multifaceted concept, which includes a diverse array of
considerations including mental health, emotional exhaustion, psychological, and emotional
wellbeing (Wright and Doherty, 1998)
Physical and mental health can play a huge role in determining safety and satisfaction at work.
Factors that influence employee wellbeing:
• Ergonomics
• Job characteristics
• Stress
• Bullying
Why “Safety, Health and Employee wellbeing”?
Good safety, health and wellbeing practices
contribute to:
• Employee morale
• Lower levels of stress
• Compliancy to legislation
• Greater commitment to the organization’s
goals & objectives
Increased awareness of Good safety, health and
wellbeing practices. Why?
Considerable costs associated with accidents and
unsafe working behaviors
Safety Culture
• Safety culture is a subset of organizational culture, which is thought to affect employee
attitudes and behaviour in relation to an organization’s on-going health and safety
performance
• Management has a crucial role in promoting and demonstrating a positive organizational
safety culture. How?
• Clear definition of the culture that is desired and what is required of everyone to
achieve it
• Setting realistic and achievable goals
• Good knowledge and understanding of health and safety throughout the
organization
• Visible leadership and commitment from all levels in the organization
How to create a safety culture?
1. Define safety and set goals
2. Empower employees to make safety a priority
3. Make safety more than just a slogan
, Why accidents occur?
• Beside the moral obligation to provide a safe place of work for employees, there is also an
economic incentive to minimize the likelihood of accidents
• Private industry employers reported 2.8 million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses in
2019 (USA)
• 2018 serious non-fatal workplace injuries amounted to nearly $60 billion per year
Indirect cost of accidents
1. Safety administration costs
2. Legal costs
3. Cost of time assisting the injured employee
4. Replacement costs
5. Training replacement workers
6. Damage to plants and machinery
7. Increase in insurance premiums
8. Low morale amongst employees
9. Increased absenteeism
Health
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity. (World Health Organization)
Employee wellbeing
Employee wellbeing has been described as a multifaceted concept, which includes a diverse array of
considerations including mental health, emotional exhaustion, psychological, and emotional
wellbeing (Wright and Doherty, 1998)
Physical and mental health can play a huge role in determining safety and satisfaction at work.
Factors that influence employee wellbeing:
• Ergonomics
• Job characteristics
• Stress
• Bullying
