an article by Steven Bittle and Lori Stinson (University of Ottawa, Canada) published in Capital & Class Volume 43 Issue 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
The first decade of the new millennium saw the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom enact criminal legislation intended to hold corporations accountable for negligently killing workers and/or members of the public.
Drawing empirically from document analyses and semistructured interviews, as well as theoretical insights concerning the crisis-prone tendencies of capital, this article demonstrates how both laws were conceived in ways that spatio-temporally delimited the ‘problem’ of corporate killing and re-secured the (neoliberal) capitalist status quo.
In so doing, we argue that the inability of the state to hold powerful corporations and corporate actors to account for their serious offending presents strategic opportunities for demanding improved accountability measures and changes to a system responsible for so much bloodshed and killing.
Showing posts with label occupational_health_and_safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label occupational_health_and_safety. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Enablers and challenges in implementing a comprehensive workplace health and well-being approach
an article by Nadine Mellor and Jennifer Webster (Health and Safety Laboratory, Buxton, UK) published in International Journal of Workplace Health Management Volume 6 Issue 2 (2013)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify key enablers and challenges in the implementation of a comprehensive approach to the management of employee well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
A large organisation which had implemented such an approach was chosen as a case study. Company documents and data regarding the corporate well-being strategy were analysed, informing the content of the approach. Interviews with implementers and managers were conducted to identify how it was done.
Findings
The focal organisation had several health management systems capable of addressing the requirements for employee well-being management. These included occupational safety and health, health promotion, management of ill-health and human resource management. Key enablers identified were strong senior leadership support, dedicated resources, involvement of stakeholders and intensive communication. Challenges revolved around the integration of these systems into a coherent whole, striking a balance between a focus on occupational risks and lifestyle risks; readiness of managers to bring attention to the concept of employees’ well-being and their ability to monitor employees’ health-related needs. Together with a target-driven work culture, these challenges worked against promoting well-being.
Research limitations/implications
This case study is exploratory. Further research needs to gather direct views of both managers and employees on how the well-being approach had been received. Explanatory research models that integrate health promotion and work management systems to better inform implementation strategy and the roles of managers are needed.
Originality/value
The paper shows that line managers need to make greater use of regular management processes such as work planning, formal and informal interactions, and resourcing, to monitor employees’ well-being needs. They also need to continually self-assess how their own leadership style may affect employee well-being.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify key enablers and challenges in the implementation of a comprehensive approach to the management of employee well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
A large organisation which had implemented such an approach was chosen as a case study. Company documents and data regarding the corporate well-being strategy were analysed, informing the content of the approach. Interviews with implementers and managers were conducted to identify how it was done.
Findings
The focal organisation had several health management systems capable of addressing the requirements for employee well-being management. These included occupational safety and health, health promotion, management of ill-health and human resource management. Key enablers identified were strong senior leadership support, dedicated resources, involvement of stakeholders and intensive communication. Challenges revolved around the integration of these systems into a coherent whole, striking a balance between a focus on occupational risks and lifestyle risks; readiness of managers to bring attention to the concept of employees’ well-being and their ability to monitor employees’ health-related needs. Together with a target-driven work culture, these challenges worked against promoting well-being.
Research limitations/implications
This case study is exploratory. Further research needs to gather direct views of both managers and employees on how the well-being approach had been received. Explanatory research models that integrate health promotion and work management systems to better inform implementation strategy and the roles of managers are needed.
Originality/value
The paper shows that line managers need to make greater use of regular management processes such as work planning, formal and informal interactions, and resourcing, to monitor employees’ well-being needs. They also need to continually self-assess how their own leadership style may affect employee well-being.
Sunday, 7 July 2013
Optimising workplace interventions for health and well-being: A commentary on the limitations of the public health perspective within the workplace health arena
an article by Maria Karanika-Murray (Nottingham Trent University, UK) and Andrew K. Weyman (University of Bath, UK) published in International Journal of Workplace Health Management Volume 6 Issue 2 (2013)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss contemporary approaches to workplace health and well-being, articulating key differences in the intervention architecture between public and workplace health contexts and implications for intervention design.
Design/methodology/approach
Contemporary practice is discussed in light of calls for a paradigm shift in occupational health from a treatment orientation to an holistic approach focused on mitigation of the causes of ill health and the promotion of well-being. In practice, relatively few organisations have or seem able to engage with a broader perspective that encompasses challenges to health and well-being associated with contextual organisational drivers, e.g. job design/role, workload, systems of reward, leadership style and the underpinning climate. Drawing upon insights from public health and the workplace safety tradition, the scope for broadening the perspective on intervention (in terms of vectors of harm addressed, theory of change and intervention logic) is discussed.
Findings
There are important differences in scope and options for intervention between public health and workplace health contexts. While there is scope to emulate public health practice, this should not constrain thinking over intervention opinions. Increased awareness of these key differences within work organisations, and an evidence-based epidemiological approach to learning has the potential to strengthen and broaden the approach to workplace health and well-being management.
Originality/value
The authors argue that approaches to workplace well-being interventions that selectively cross-fertilise and adapt elements of public health interventions offer promise for realising a broader change agenda and for building inherently healthy workplaces.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss contemporary approaches to workplace health and well-being, articulating key differences in the intervention architecture between public and workplace health contexts and implications for intervention design.
Design/methodology/approach
Contemporary practice is discussed in light of calls for a paradigm shift in occupational health from a treatment orientation to an holistic approach focused on mitigation of the causes of ill health and the promotion of well-being. In practice, relatively few organisations have or seem able to engage with a broader perspective that encompasses challenges to health and well-being associated with contextual organisational drivers, e.g. job design/role, workload, systems of reward, leadership style and the underpinning climate. Drawing upon insights from public health and the workplace safety tradition, the scope for broadening the perspective on intervention (in terms of vectors of harm addressed, theory of change and intervention logic) is discussed.
Findings
There are important differences in scope and options for intervention between public health and workplace health contexts. While there is scope to emulate public health practice, this should not constrain thinking over intervention opinions. Increased awareness of these key differences within work organisations, and an evidence-based epidemiological approach to learning has the potential to strengthen and broaden the approach to workplace health and well-being management.
Originality/value
The authors argue that approaches to workplace well-being interventions that selectively cross-fertilise and adapt elements of public health interventions offer promise for realising a broader change agenda and for building inherently healthy workplaces.
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Employee perceptions of workplace bullying and their implications
an article by Judy Van Rooyen (La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia) and Darcy McCormack (Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia) published in International Journal of Workplace Health Management Volume 6 Issue 2 (2013)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether perceptions of workplace bullying have evolved to encompass a holistic appreciation that includes both physical and psychological components of this costly phenomenon, and to assess the effectiveness of relevant training programs in a major retail organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology is adopted. In total, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with frontline employees and management in an organisation comprising several retail outlets.
Findings
The interviews reveal that although participants experienced a variety of behaviours associated with workplace bullying and harassment, these behaviours were commonly ignored or neglected until they escalated into confrontation and threatened productivity and profitability. Employees and supervisory staff had minimal appreciation, practical skills, or training on how to deal effectively with negative workplace behaviours.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of the study is that the data are sourced from a single organisation. The findings highlight the need to evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of occupational health and safety policies and procedures, and to expand their focus beyond the physical paradigm to incorporate also psychosocial and psychological, risk and injury.
Originality/value
The study provides a unique examination of whether management and staff incorporate both physical and psychological aspects of occupational health and safety.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether perceptions of workplace bullying have evolved to encompass a holistic appreciation that includes both physical and psychological components of this costly phenomenon, and to assess the effectiveness of relevant training programs in a major retail organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology is adopted. In total, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with frontline employees and management in an organisation comprising several retail outlets.
Findings
The interviews reveal that although participants experienced a variety of behaviours associated with workplace bullying and harassment, these behaviours were commonly ignored or neglected until they escalated into confrontation and threatened productivity and profitability. Employees and supervisory staff had minimal appreciation, practical skills, or training on how to deal effectively with negative workplace behaviours.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of the study is that the data are sourced from a single organisation. The findings highlight the need to evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of occupational health and safety policies and procedures, and to expand their focus beyond the physical paradigm to incorporate also psychosocial and psychological, risk and injury.
Originality/value
The study provides a unique examination of whether management and staff incorporate both physical and psychological aspects of occupational health and safety.
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
The “Management Standards” for stress in large organizations
an article by Nadine Mellor and Phoebe Smith (Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), Buxton, UK) and Colin Mackay and David Palferman (Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Bootle, UK) published in International Journal of Workplace Health Management Volume 6 Issue 1 (2013)
Abstract
Purpose
In Great Britain, the ‘”Management Standards” were launched in 2004 and formally published in 2007 by the Health and Safety Executive to help organisations manage work-related stress. The purpose of this paper is to examine how these Standards are translated into organisational practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses case studies carried out in five large organisations drawn from the public and private sectors in Great Britain.
Findings
Senior management commitment and worker participation are key to managing work-related stress and are commonly reported across organisations, although to variable form and depth. The solution chosen to identify stress issues is a short assessment of all staff via annual staff surveys, coupled with in-depth assessments of groups at risk. Common practice also includes combining individual and organisational interventions. One significant challenge emerges as the translation from identified stress issues to focussed interventions and their evaluation.
Research limitations/implications
The implementation processes outlined in this study are by no means exhaustive due to the small sample size but are consistent with previous research.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the HSE Management Standards approach for dealing with stress issues is do-able. Refining the information in the HSE guidance on implementing and evaluating interventions and broadening the current focus on organisation-level interventions is needed.
Originality/value
Publication of case studies of the implementation of the Management Standards has been limited. This paper illustrates the efforts made by large organisations to integrate national guidance on stress and this could be used for guiding and improving stress management in similar work settings.
Abstract
Purpose
In Great Britain, the ‘”Management Standards” were launched in 2004 and formally published in 2007 by the Health and Safety Executive to help organisations manage work-related stress. The purpose of this paper is to examine how these Standards are translated into organisational practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses case studies carried out in five large organisations drawn from the public and private sectors in Great Britain.
Findings
Senior management commitment and worker participation are key to managing work-related stress and are commonly reported across organisations, although to variable form and depth. The solution chosen to identify stress issues is a short assessment of all staff via annual staff surveys, coupled with in-depth assessments of groups at risk. Common practice also includes combining individual and organisational interventions. One significant challenge emerges as the translation from identified stress issues to focussed interventions and their evaluation.
Research limitations/implications
The implementation processes outlined in this study are by no means exhaustive due to the small sample size but are consistent with previous research.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the HSE Management Standards approach for dealing with stress issues is do-able. Refining the information in the HSE guidance on implementing and evaluating interventions and broadening the current focus on organisation-level interventions is needed.
Originality/value
Publication of case studies of the implementation of the Management Standards has been limited. This paper illustrates the efforts made by large organisations to integrate national guidance on stress and this could be used for guiding and improving stress management in similar work settings.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
An independent review of British health and safety regulation? From common sense to non-sense
an article by Phil James (Oxford Brookes University, UK), Steve Tombs (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) and David Whyte (University of Liverpool, UK) published in Policy Studies Volume 34 Issue 1 (2013)
Abstract
The view that regulatory provisions protecting the employment conditions of workers need to be minimised in order to protect the business needs of employers has been an ongoing theme in British governmental policy discourse over the past three decades.
For the present Coalition government, the assumption that current levels of regulation are unduly burdensome on employers and hence harmful to the economy has continued to be enthusiastically voiced, most notably in respect of the regulation of workplace health and safety.
Against this backcloth, this paper develops a critical examination of the conclusions of an ‘independent’ review of health and safety regulations commissioned by the present UK Government to shed light on the way in which a deregulatory policy agenda is being furthered.
The paper commences by locating the recent review of health and safety regulations, the ‘Löfstedt review’, in the context of other recent government initiatives aimed at alleviating the burden of health and safety regulation from the shoulders of employers.
It then moves on to outline the nature of this review and its main conclusions and recommendations, before considering in turn its use of evidence, deployment of the notion of ‘low risk’ and lack of attention to the issue of enforcement.
Finally, a concluding section draws together the key points to emerge from the preceding analysis and highlights how the Löfstedt review can be seen to form an integral part of a misleading deregulatory discourse that threatens to engender the wholesale undermining of workplace health and safety protections.
Abstract
The view that regulatory provisions protecting the employment conditions of workers need to be minimised in order to protect the business needs of employers has been an ongoing theme in British governmental policy discourse over the past three decades.
For the present Coalition government, the assumption that current levels of regulation are unduly burdensome on employers and hence harmful to the economy has continued to be enthusiastically voiced, most notably in respect of the regulation of workplace health and safety.
Against this backcloth, this paper develops a critical examination of the conclusions of an ‘independent’ review of health and safety regulations commissioned by the present UK Government to shed light on the way in which a deregulatory policy agenda is being furthered.
The paper commences by locating the recent review of health and safety regulations, the ‘Löfstedt review’, in the context of other recent government initiatives aimed at alleviating the burden of health and safety regulation from the shoulders of employers.
It then moves on to outline the nature of this review and its main conclusions and recommendations, before considering in turn its use of evidence, deployment of the notion of ‘low risk’ and lack of attention to the issue of enforcement.
Finally, a concluding section draws together the key points to emerge from the preceding analysis and highlights how the Löfstedt review can be seen to form an integral part of a misleading deregulatory discourse that threatens to engender the wholesale undermining of workplace health and safety protections.
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