Business Ethics in the Social Context by Lisa Newton

Author:Lisa Newton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Heidelberg

2.4.3 Safety and Health as Cultural Problems

Ultimately, health and safety have more to do with the attitude and lifestyle of the employee than they have to do with the stresses of the modern workplace. Some companies have made a fetish of safety consciousness, drilling safety and health protection rules into the employees (Never reach out to brace yourself on a working machine. Never lift with your back, always with your legs. Always wear your safety equipment. Etc.), rewarding units that are accident-free and low in absences, posting records of health and safety to encourage employees to remember the rules, and on occasion, even shutting down units found in violation of safety regulations until the violation is fixed—to make sure that the unit is operating in compliance with regulations, but also to send a clear message to all units that minor deviations from rule will not be tolerated.

Beyond adherence to good rules on the job, the quest for employee health and safety can expand into a variety of “wellness” programs in the workplace: exercise rooms available to executives between tasks or meetings, with an exercise plan to go with them and a company physician to recommend individualized programs; diet and nutrition programs offered by the company cafeteria; rewards (in the form of better benefits, perhaps) for employees who agree to stay smoke-free or fat-free. Why might a company undertake these programs, which have nothing obviously to do with the company business or the bottom line? The answer lies in the cost to train and prepare new high-level executives for the corporation. It takes a very long time to bring a really good corporate officer on line, with up to date expert knowledge in the field, relevant people skills, and a deep understanding of the company’s history and culture. If fitness and “wellness” initiatives can keep an executive active 15 more years than he would have been active otherwise, they pay for themselves. A wellness center, then, including fitness programs, may be one of the best investments a company can make.

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