Employee Health

Employee Health
Concept:
The well-being of the employee in industrial establishment is affected by accident and by
health-physical as well as mental. In this section, we shall discuss the need for healthy workers
and health services to be provided by the management to ensure the continuing good health of
their employees.
We propose to examine employee health from the following angles physical health, mental
health, noise control, stress management,alcoholism,drug,and violence in work palce.
Physical Health :
Health of employees results in reduced productivity, high unsafe acts, and increased
absenteeism. A health worker, on the other hand, are more produces results opposite to these. In
other words, healthy employees are more productive, more safety conscious, and are more
regular to work. The worker who is healthy is always cheerful,confident looking,and is an
invaluable asset to the organisation. But the physical health of an employee can be adversely
affected by several causes.
A realisation of the advantages which flow from a healthy workforce has impelled many
management to provide health services to their employees, which very from the simple provision
of frist-aid equipment to complete medical care. Many progressive organisations maintain wellequipped dispensaries with full time or part time doctors and full time compounders/nurses.
Health services :
A typical organisation renders the following health services to its employees. It may be
stated that these services, at best , offer first aid treatment to the victims. For any major ailment,
employees are advised to go to authorised clinics nursing homes.
1. Pre-hiring medical check up for all employees.
2. Periodical physical, check up of all employees. Regular medical check up of executives
to detect early sing of tension, ulcers,diabetes and the like.
3. Frist-aid treatment following an accident. Training in frist-aid to all employees.
4. Treatment of minor complaints, such as cold, cough, fever and headaches.
5. Pro vision of healthy sanitary facilities, such as supply of potable water.disposal waste
and effluents provision of healthy food elimination of insects and rodents provision of
personal services good housekeeping and the like.
6. Special examination of eyes. Teeth and ears, when needed.
7. Co-opertion with family physicians, local hospitals, clinics as well as with specialists.
8. Special care of employees working in painting,welding and foundry sections the risk to
their health is greater.
9. Maternity and chaild welfare, including family planning.
10. Adequate ventilation, good lighting, tree plantnig and good residential quarters.
Mental Health
In recent years, mental health of employees, particularly that of executives, has
engaged the attention of employees. Three reasons may be give for this development. Frist,
mental breakdowns are common in modem days because of pressures and tensions. Second,
mental disturbances of various types result in reduced productivity and lower profits for the
organisation. Third, mental illness takes its toll through alcoholism, high employee turnover,
and poor human relationship.
A mental health service is generally rendered in the following ways:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Psychiatric counselling,
Co-operation and consultation with outside psychiatrists and specialists.
Education of company personnel in the nature and the importance of mental health.
Development and maintenance of an effective human relations programme.
Noise control :
An age old problem, and not effectively tackled till now, is the noise in industrial
establishment. Noise made its appearance in organisation when human started working
on metal, as civilisation advanced, human being discovered more and more ways of
havingmachines to do his/her work, and each new machine added to the problem. For
quite a number of years, noise was endured by all. But in the recent past, the increasing
use of machines of great speed is telling upon the health of the workers.
Long exposure to excessive noise impairs the hearing of employees. The level
and duration of noise and the exposure that is likely to cause deafness varies frome
person to person. It is agreed that long exposure to noise in excess of the prescibed limits
makes one deaf. But in most industrial operations, noise levels exceed the agreed norm as
shown.
Noise-induced hearing loss has been included as a notifiable disease under the
factories Act, 1948.It is also compensable under the Workmens compensation Act, 1923.
But hearing loss is not the only effect of noise. Constant exposure to high noise
levels can cause hormonal imbalances, changes in blood circulation, dizziness, increase
in respiratory rate, heartburn, sleep disturbances and fatigue. Outwardly, workars may
seem accustomed to the noise. But the body suffers till it succumbs to presistent
onslaughts.
Control Mathod :
It is impossible to eliminate noise from industrial establishment. It is there as
long as machinery is used in manufacturing operations. However, noise control can help
minimise harmful effects on employees.
Noise control can be achived:
At the sorce
Through enclosures
By absorption
By ear protection
Controlling noise at its origin is the best method of reducing its harmful effects .
but it is difficult to plan for this control, because identical machines may require
different methods since production problems and economic considerations are often
different. However, noise can be controlled at its source by quietening the noise
producing element by repairing or redesigning the machines mounting machines to
reduce vaibration or substitutuing noise producing elements with quieter ones.

Employee Health

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