Chapter 14

Question 1

What is a strategic importance of occupational health and safety?

Answer 1

Investment in disability management and proactive wellness programs create measurable bottom-line returns

Question 2

What is OHS legislation and what is its purpose?

Answer 2

Laws intended to protect the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related accidents and illnesses
Purpose:
These laws fall into three categories:
general health and safety rules
rules for specific industries (e.g. mining)
rules related to specific hazards (e.g. asbestos)

Question 3

What is an occupational injury?`

Answer 3

Any cut, fracture, sprain or amputation resulting from a workplace accident.

Question 4

What is an occupational illness?

Answer 4

Any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one resulting from an occupational injury, caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with employment.

Question 5

What are some responsibilities of employers for occupational health and safety?

Answer 5

Due diligence- employers are responsible for taking every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of their workers
Specific duties of the employer include:
filing government accident reports
maintaining records
ensuring that safety rules are enforced
posting safety notices and legislative information

Question 6

What is supervisor’s role in occupational health and safety?

Answer 6

most jurisdictions impose a personal duty on supervisors to ensure that workers comply with occupational health and safety regulations
specific obligation on supervisors to advise and instruct workers about safety, to ensure that all reasonable precautions have been taken to provide for the safety of all employees, and to minimize risk of injuries or illness
safety-minded managers must aim to instill in their workers the desire to work safely

Question 7

What are some responsibilities of the employee in terms of OHS?

Answer 7

Employees are responsible for taking reasonable care to protect their own health and safety and, in most cases, that of their coworkers
Specific requirements include wearing protective clothing and equipment and reporting any contravention of the law or regulations
Employees have three basic rights:
the right to know about workplace safety hazards
the right to participate in the OHS process
the right to refuse unsafe work

Question 8

What is a Joint health and safety committee?

Answer 8

The JHSC should provide a non-adversarial atmosphere where management and labour can work together to ensure a safe and healthy workplace
Committees are usually required to consist of between 2 and 12 members, at least half of whom must represent workers. Applies to all companies with over 20 employees.
In small workplaces, one health and safety representative may be sufficient.

Question 9

How OHS is enforced?

Answer 9

In all Canadian jurisdictions, occupational health and safety law provides for government inspectors to periodically carry out safety inspections of workplace
Penalties may consist of fines and/or jail terms
The Criminal Code includes a criminal offence commonly known as “corporate killing,” which imposes criminal liability on “all persons” who direct the work of other employees and fail to ensure an appropriate level of safety in the workplace.

Question 10

What is the legislation for the control of toxic substances?

Answer 10

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
(WHMIS) legislation has three components:

labelling of hazardous material containers
material safety data sheets (MSDS)
employee training

Question 11

What are the three causes of accidents?

Answer 11

Chance/Occurrences(beyond management’s control)
Unsafe Conditions
Unsafe Acts

Question 12

What are some unsafe conditions?

Answer 12

improperly guarded equipment
defective equipment
hazardous procedures
unsafe storage
improper illumination
improper ventilation

Question 13

What are some unsafe acts?

Answer 13

throwing materials
operating or working at unsafe speeds
rendering safety devices inoperative
using unsafe equipment or using equipment unsafely
taking unsafe positions under suspended loads
lifting improperly
distracting, teasing, abusing, startling, horseplay, quarrelling

Question 14

How to prevent accidents?

Answer 14

reduce unsafe conditions 
reduce unsafe acts
selection testing
top-management commitment 
positive reinforcement

Question 15

What are some factors that affect work-related accidents?

Answer 15

Job (some inherently dangerous)
Work Schedule (fatigue)
Psychological Climate (stress)

Question 16

What are employee wellness programs?

Answer 16

Proactive approach to employee health and well being
Management strategy to achieve measurable outcomes related to productivity, cost reduction, recruitment/retention, and profit
Wellness initiatives often include:
stress management
nutrition and weight management
smoking cessation programs
tai chi
heart health
physical fitness programs
ergonomics

Question 17

What are some OHS issues and challenges?

Answer 17

substance abuse
job stress
repetitive strain injuries
workplace toxins
workplace smoking
influenza pandemic 
violence at work

Question 18

What is the legislation on substance abuse?

Answer 18

Alcohol/drug abuse considered a disability (human rights law) vs. employers’ due diligence requirement (OHS law)
Substance abuse testing only legal if:
test is rationally connected to performance of the job
test is adopted in honest and good-faith belief that it is necessary for fulfillment of work-related purpose
test is reasonably necessary to the accomplishment of the work-related purpose
Random substance abuse testing is illegal
Employers can:
forbid drugs/alcohol in workplace
require random drug testing only for “safety-sensitive” jobs
require mandatory drug testing “for cause” or “post-incident” in certain circumstances
Positive test results must result in accommodation of the employee’s disability

Question 19

What is job stress and its consequences?

Answer 19

Human Consequences of Job Stress include:
Psychological / emotional
Behavioral
Physical
mental health issues are the leading cause of both short and long-term disability claims
Eustress==good stress

Question 20

What are sources of job stress?

Answer 20

Environmental Factors
high demand job
high levels of mental and physical effort
Personal Factors
type A personalities
patience
tolerance for ambiguity
self-esteem
health and exercise
work and sleep patterns 
non-job-related problems like divorce, depression, work/family time conflict

Question 21

What are the ways to reduce job stress?

Answer 21

Employee Can:
get more sleep, eat better, take vacation, meditate, find a more suitable job, get counselling, organize each day’s activities
Employer/Supervisor Can:
offer a EAP
monitor each employee’s performance to identify symptoms of stress and then inform the person of organizational remedies
ensure fair treatment
permit employee to have more control over his or her job

Question 22

What is a burnout?

Answer 22

The total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal

Question 23

How to avoid burnout?

Answer 23

break patterns
get away from it all periodically
reassess goals
think about work
reduce stress

Question 24

What is PTSD?

Answer 24

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refers to a series of symptoms that can develop after exposure to an actual or perceived threat of death or serious injury, or after a threat of injury (including physical and emotional) to self or others
PTSD can be triggered by an event or series of events (workplace related or not), and is prevalent in specific professions

Question 25

What are repetitive strain injuries?

Answer 25

Activity-related soft-tissue injuries of the neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, back and legs
Employers must advise and train workers about the risk of RSIs from workplace activity, identify and assess job-related RSI risk factors, encourage workers to report RSI symptoms early, and use ergonomic interventions
Ergonomics refers to the art of fitting the workstation and work tools to the individual

Question 26

What are some implications of workplace toxins?

Answer 26

Leading cause of work-related deaths around the world is cancer
In addition to known carcinogens, such as asbestos and benzene, new chemicals and substances are constantly being introduced into the workplace without adequate testing
Workers’ compensation laws in several provinces have been amended to provide benefits to firefighters who develop specific job related cancers

Question 27

What is the legislation on workplace smoking?

Answer 27

Most Canadian jurisdictions have banned smoking in workplaces
Health Canada is urging employers to implement smoking cessation programs for employees to achieve:
better health for employees
better business results
legislative compliance
increased employee satisfaction (especially for the 80 percent of Canadians who do not smoke)
avoidance of litigation

Question 28

What is the legislation on workplace violence?

Answer 28

Most Canadian jurisdictions now have workplace violence legislation in place covering physical violence, and some include psychological/emotional violence
Human rights laws across the country prohibit various forms of harassment and bullying
Employers may be found liable for violent acts of their employees on the basis that the employer negligently hired or negligently retained someone whom the employer should reasonably have known could cause the violent act
Employers may also be found liable when they are aware of violent incidents and fail to respond

Question 29

How to prevent violence at work?

Answer 29

identify jobs with high risk of violence
institute workplace violence policy
create a healthy work environment
heighten security measures