ABSTRACT
Employee health and safety is
consider to be a major determinants of employee and organizational performance.
Today, the matter of work-force health and safety at work is receiving
worldwide attention, this is the major reasons why most successful organization
take care of his employee health and safety. However, many organization often
record high rate of industrial accidents, large-scale absenteeism occasioned by
ill health as a result of the neglect of health and safety. This project
provides various types of employee health and safety and how it could be
implemented for improved organizational performance taken Unilever Nigeria Plc
as a case study. Three (5) null hypotheses were postulated to find out if there
is no significant relationship between Industrial Safety Management and workers
performance; between occupational health and employee’s performance; between
health and safety management and protection of company equipments and property.
Questions were formulated based on the three hypotheses. A total number of 120
copies of closed-ended questionnaire were administered to respondents during
the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted in the study. Inferential statistical
method of chi-square (X2) was used to test the stated hypotheses with the aid
of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20.0). Data analysis was
carried out at five percent 0.05 (5%) level of significance. Findings revealed
that there is significant relationship between industrial health and safety
management and workers’ productivity. The study recommends continuous training/
retraining of health and employees should be committed to safety culture safety
personnel and the entire workforce on safe work procedures. Top management and
employees should be commitment to safety culture. Monthly safety incentive
schemes for all the employees in Unilever Nigeria PLC should be put in place.
The study thus concluded that employees’ health and safety is important in
promoting employee and organizational safety and improved performance of the
company.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE ……………………………………………………………….. 1
INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………. 1
1.1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ……………………………….............1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
…………………………….………... 7
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
………………………………..………………9
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
…………………………….………………… 9
1.5 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY
………………..………………………10
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ………………..………………………10
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
………………………………………… 11
1.8 ORGANIZATION OF STUDY
……………………………………………11
CHAPTER
TWO …………………………………………………………………12
LITERATURE REVIEW
………………………………………………………. 12
2.1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………… 12
2.2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
INFORMATION ……………………...12
2.3. THE CONCEPT OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY …… 14 2.4.
SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY IN ORGANISATION ……………….. 16
2.5. MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY………………………………………… 18
2.6. THE EMPLOYEE AND THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT………….. 21
2.7. SAFETY AND HEALTH CULTURE
........................................................ 25
2.8. THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT AND
PERFORMANCE ................. 28
2.9. SAFETY AND HEALTH CULTURE …………………………………… 31
2.10. OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES …………………………………………… 33
2.11. ORGANISATIONAL ROLE AND ATTITUDE TO AND SAFETY...........34
2.12. MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT………………………………………. 35
2.13. EMPLOYEES INVOLVEMENT OF
HEALTH AND SAFETY............. 36
2.14. EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
......................................................................... 38
CHAPTER THREE ……………………………………………………………… 40
METHODOLOGY ……………………………………………………………….40
3.1. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………… 40
3.2. AREA OF STUDY ……………………………………………………….. 40
3.3. RESEARCH DESIGN
………………………………………………….. 40
3.4. POPULATION
…………………………………………………………… 41
3.5. SAMPLING AND SAMPLING PROCEDURES………………………. 42
3.6. INSTRUMENTATION …………………………………………………. 44 3.7. DATA COLLECTION …………………………………………………..
45
3.7.1 SOURCES OF DATA …………………………………………………… 45
3.7.2 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE ………………………………….. 46
3.8. DATA VALIDITY AND
RELIABILITY……………………………… 46
3.9. PROCEDURES FOR DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION….. 46
CHAPTER FOUR ..
………………........................................................................
48
ANALYSIS, DISCUSSIONS AND REPRESENTATION OF RESULTS …… 48
4.1.
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………… 48
4.2. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF
PRELIMINARY DATA …….. 48
4.3. GENDER OF
RESPONDENTS………………………………………….. 49
4.4. AGE OF RESPONDENTS
………………………………………………. 49
4.5. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF
RESPONDENTS …………….. 50
4.6. WORKING EXPERIENCE OF
RESPONDENTS ……………………… 51
4.7. WHAT IS THE SAFETY STANDARDS
PUT IN PLACE
THE
ORGANISATION?………………………………………………… 51
4.8. HOW HAS HEALTH AND SAFETY
STANDARD
AFFECTED EMPLOYEES‟
PRODUCTIVITY? ………………………. 54
4.9. WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF EMPLOYEES UNDERSTANDING
OF HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICIES OF THE
ORGANISATION?. 57
4.10. WHAT IS THE ATTITUDE OF MANAGEMENT TOWARDS
HEALTH AND SAFETY OF
EMPLOYEES?………………………….. 61 4.11 WHAT
ARE THE CHALLENGES OF HEALTH
AND SAFETY STANDARDS IN THE
ORGANISATION? …………….. 63
CHAPTER FIVE ………………………………………………………………… 65
SUMMARYOF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION .. 65
5.1. INTRODUCTION
………………………………………………………. 65
5.2. OVERVIEW OF THE
STUDY…………………………………………. 65
5.3. KEY FINDINGS
……………………………………………………….. 66
5.4. CONCLUSIONS ……………………………………………………….. 67
5.5. RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………………………………. 69
5.6. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ……………………….. 70
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
.
1.1 Background to the Study
Industrialisation has been the engine of growth for most
developing countries like Nigeria and because of that many successive
governments strive to find ways and means for developing their industrial
sector. The influence of an enduring employee’s safety on organisational
productivity and loss control in the Nigerian construction industry cannot be
over emphasized, especially in the areas of setting minimum safety management
standards, safe work procedures and environmental management standards
(Lourandos, 2008).
It is assumed that an organization’s employees safety
measures have a direct relationship with employees’ productivity in view of the
fact that assigned tasks can only be safely accomplished when the work
environment is safe and conducive for the execution of the assigned duties, be
it construction, manufacturing or servicing, thus, any phenomenon that affects
human production capacity will invariably affect organizational productivity
hence improving workers wellbeing offers a company the opportunity of enhancing
its performance (Galliker, 2000).
Apart from the need to reduce or eliminate accidents, construction
companies should inculcate safety measure in their workforce in order to
satisfy legal, social, and moral obligations of the host community. Dorman
(2000) argues that for companies to provide effective improvement of health,
safety and environment conditions, the costs of ill-health/accidents must be
economic, internal, variable and visible. Court (2003), in his contribution to
corporate employees safety management sees the subject of safety as needed in
every industry, he further argues that creating better work environment and
preventing harm from work are the key means of improving productivity. Today,
the matter of work-force safety at work is receiving worldwide attention. And
Nigeria cannot be left out.
There is a high rate of industrial accidents and large-scale
absenteeism occasioned by ill health (Kohn and Mark 1996). Some jobs are very
hazardous and the common law requires every employer of labour to ensure that
the work-force is safe and that employees doing hazardous work are protected
adequately. In that case, safety at work must be pursued as a means of
enhancing efficiency and quality of performance (Eze, 2006).
Hence, providing working conditions that promote the safety
of employees is therefore becoming a major management concern. Barriers are
introduced in the form of guards, clothing, protected areas and the like.
Perhaps, equally important, reducing the accident potential of a work
environment tends to increase the feelings of security and reducing anxiety
levels. This in itself makes people less likely to have accidents because they
are no longer distracted by their anxieties. Companies also use publicity
campaigns, involving various personnel communication media and contests to
promote safety (Cole, 1993). Contests typically provide financial reward to
members of groups with low accident rates. The focus of these contests and the
measures employed can vary considerably, but the essential ingredient is the
idea that it pays to be safe. The influence of an enduring employee’s safety
management on organisational productivity and loss control in the Nigerian
industrial clime cannot be over emphasized. Hence, this research study
investigated the impact of industrial health and safety management on workers’
productivity with special reference to Unilever Nig. PLC.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
In today’s workplace, whether it is on a plantation,in an
office, factory, institutions, etc. everyworker across the globe is faced with
a multitudeof health hazards such as dusts, gases,noise, vibration and extreme
temperatures. Thisinvariably results to absenteeismtriggered by ill-health.
Unfortunatelysome employers assume little responsibility forthe protection of
workers’ health and safety.
It is noteworthy that the right to life is fundamental and
most be considered sacrosanct. Yet every year 2.2 million men and women are
deprived of that right by occupational accidents and work related diseases
(ILO, 2011). By conservative estimates workers suffer 270 million occupational
accidents and 160 million occupational diseases each year (ILO, 2011). This is
perhaps just the tip of the iceberg, as data for estimating nonfatal illness
and injury are not available in most developing countries. Occupational
injuries alone account for more than 10 million Disability-Adjusted Life Years
(DALYs) lost, or healthy years of life lost whether to disability or premature
death, and 8% of unintentional injuries worldwide (ILO, 2011).
The consequences of construction incidents (accidents,
ill-health and environmental pollution) on workers’ productivity are so grave
that construction companies should be legally, morally and socially compelled
to inculcate safety measures in their workforce. Construction incidents
especially
those involving lost time injuries (LTI) and lost workdays
(LWD) usually lead to shop closure for incident investigation and reporting.
This situation results in loss of man-hours, output, reputation and low workers
morale. It is on this backdrop that this study was carried to investigate the
impact of industrial health and safety management on worker’s productivity.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:
The major objective of this study is to examine The Impact
of Industrial Health and Safety Management on Workers Productivity. Other
specific objectives of this study are to:
1.To determine different type of health and safety method
essential for organizational improved performance.
2.To find out effect of health and safety management on
employee performance.
3.To examine the effect of health and safety management on
organizational performance.
4.To find out the effect of health and safety management on
organizational equipment and property.
5.To determine the effect of health and safety management on
employee lives and wellbeing.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
This research work shall be guided by the following research
questions:
1. Is there any
significant relationship between industrial health and safety management and
workers’ productivity?
2. Is there any
significant relationship between health and safety management and employee
performance?
3. What is the
effect of health and safety management on organizational performance?
4. What is the
effect of health and safety management on organizational equipment and
property?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES:
The under mentioned hypotheses will be tested in the course
of the research study at 5% level of significance.
Hypotheses 1:
Ho: There is no significant relationship between
industrial health and safety
management and workers’ performance.
Hi: There
is a significant relationship between industrial health and safety management and workers’ performance.
Hypotheses 2:
Ho: There
is no significant relationship between Occupational health and employee’s performance.
Hi: There
is a significant relationship between Occupational health and employee’s performance
Hypotheses 3:
Ho: There
is no significant relationship between health and safety management and protection
of employee lives and wellbeing.
Hi: There
is a significant relationship between health and safety management and protection of employee lives and
wellbeing.
Hypotheses 4:
Ho: There
is no significant relationship between health and safety management and protection
of company equipment and property.
Hi: There
is a significant relationship between health and safety management and protection of company equipment and
property.
Hypotheses 5:
Ho: There
is no significant relationship between total safety management and organizational
performance.
Hi: There is a significant relationship between
total safety management and
organizational performance.
1.6 Significance
of the Study
One of the primary
goals of organisations is to optimize human resource to achieve set targets.
Issues of health and safety within organisations are critical in the
accomplishment of tasks.
Industrial accidents and illness make up one of the largest part of loss
of production time in the industry and these injuries have posed a major
challenge to most manufacturing industries. Companies have suffered long spells
of production shortfalls, compensation payment, insurance premiums and legal
battles due to injury, reduction to the quality of life, family problems and
decrease of life-span and other effects which is impossible to evaluate its
qualitative cost on the employee, organisation, society and the nation in
general.
Health and safety of workers is a moral responsibility
within our society that cannot only depend on productivity criteria within a
particular company but can also have a serious consequence for individual
workers, society and the nation as a whole. It is of the hope that the study
would boost the morale of employees and ensure job security at all times by
getting a better understanding of health and safety practices in the
organisation. The study would also help
the employees to comply with organisational health and safety standards which
in the long run would reduce accidents and injuries at the workplace thereby
increasing their performance and productivity.
This study would serve as the bases for increasing the
awareness of health safety as well as identifying the weaknesses of the various
strategies that employers adopt to enhance health and safety standards and
recommend the possible ways of improving them. Employers would appreciate the
cost of equipping employees with the right protective clothing and standards to
ensure accident free environment.
Findings and recommendation offered should not only add to
existing literature for academic purposes, but also provide useful insights and
guidelines for enhancing the quality of health and safety among employees in
organisations.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
As with many human endeavors, the study was not without any
shortcomings. Some of the requirements in the questionnaire were sensitive
company information and as such, employees and employers were reluctant in
answering questions which was critical in providing the necessary response for
the study as they were of the view that providing the right answers may affect
them directly or indirectly.
1.8 Organisation of the Study
This dissertation is organized into five chapters. Chapter one presents the background to the
study, problem statement, objectives (both general and specific). It also outlines the research questions,
significance, as well as the limitations of the study. The second chapter
reviews relevant literature on the concepts and core issues of the study while
chapter three explains how the study was conducted. Methodological issues considered here include
the study design, study population, sample size and sampling procedure and
instrumentation, sources of data and procedure for data analysis and
presentation. Chapter four discusses and
analyzes the results of the study while chapter five summarizes, offers
recommendations and conclusion for the study.
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