WORKPLACE SAFETY AND ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS ATTAINMENT, USING EXXON MOBIL NIGERIA UNLIMITED, EKET AS A CASE STUDY
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Workplace accidents and injuries are a growing problem for organizations in many countries. As a consequence, improving workplace safety has become an area of increasing concern for employers and politicians as well as researchers. Work environment problems and their consequences in terms of the ill health of employees have long been of interest to researchers. Considerable research has shown that poor physical and psychosocial working conditions can lead to a deterioration of individual health and wellbeing (Clarke & Cooper, 2004). Most of these studies concern work environment issues in relation to concepts such as stress-induced illness. An area within work environment research that has received less attention, however, concerns the effects that workplace conditions have on employee safety. According to statistics on Swedish workplaces (The Swedish Work Environment Authority, 2014a), injuries and accidents had been steadily decreasing over the last century but seemed to reach a plateau in the 1990’s. As recently as 2010, however, they started increasing again, indicating that workplace safety is an issue that should be focused on and prioritized. The growing problem of workplace hazards is also evident from international statistics, showing that about two million people die every year from work-related accidents and diseases around the world. Even when focusing only on workplace accidents, as many as 270 million fatal and non-fatal accidents are estimated to occur each year (International Labour Organization, 2014).
The immense suffering caused by such accidents and illnesses among the affected employees and their relatives is of course incalculable. Even just in economic terms, the losses are considerable. The costs associated with, for example, early retirements, health care expenses, loss of skilled staff, absenteeism, and high insurance premiums as a consequence of work-related accidents and diseases are considerable. Work-related injury alone is estimated to cost the equivalent of 4 percent of the world Gross Domestic Production (GDP). In some countries the cost of such injuries even reaches as much as 10 percent of their GDP (International Social Security Administration, 2014). According to the International Labour Organization, the direct or indirect cost of occupational illness and accidents at work is estimated at US$2.8 trillion worldwide. Although both society and organizations are beginning to be more aware of the urgency of finding ways to prevent work-related accidents and injuries, research regarding workplace safety is still relatively scarce.
One plausible reason for the increase in workplace accidents in recent years is the hard-pressed competitive situation experienced by many organizations, which has led to increasingly higher demands for fast and Despite the significant human and economic costs resulting from workplace accidents, research agrees that many of these accidents are preventable through the implementation of sound prevention, reporting, and inspection practices (International Labour Organization, 2014). The responsibility of the employer to provide a safe workplace is also something the workers themselves are becoming increasingly aware of as the workforce becomes more educated. Due to a more widespread and faster exchange of information regarding hazards and risky environments, the workers of today are more safety and environmentally conscious. As a consequence, workers, as well as the public in general, are more willing to express disapproval of organizations that are irresponsible when it comes to safety and that are perceived to behave carelessly regarding the wellbeing of its employees (Cullen, Hartman, & Jonson, 2009; Turner, 1991).
Safety is a very wide concept that refers to the avoidance of any kind of accident leading to harm or injury to human beings (Piètre-Cambacédès & Bouissou, 2013). The concept of safety is also broad in the sense that it can range from regarding accidents or incidents that cause only minor physical injuries, such as a bruise or a small cut, to major injuries that require intense hospital care or that may result in death. In addition, given the focus on avoiding harm, safety also includes efforts aimed at understanding the causes of accidents and at preventing new ones from occurring. Work on safety is therefore also often concerned with improving the safety-related behaviors of the employees (Smith, Karsh, Carayon, & Conway, 2003). Examples of such behaviors include complying with safety rules and regulations, taking initiatives to contribute to the enhancement of safety at the workplace, and reporting all accidents and injuries that are experienced or found out about. This last behavior has been increasingly focused on in safety contexts, as
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Work place accidents reports abound in many organizations. The reason for this can be traced to the leaders of the organization taking safety practices for granted. Pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, impacts negatively on families and friends and are all very real outcomes of injuries and illnesses that was caused by work place mistakes and accidents. Most employees are disabled as a result of this safety issue. The sympathies of the government, courts and public quickly go to the injured or ill, particularly if it is determined that the employer had not “taken every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection” of the employee. Ignoring or underplaying risks that may result in major interruption of the business operations is simply unacceptable. However, it is rampant. This neglect of safety precautions impacts negatively on the attainment of organizational goals. Useful resources are wasted due to accidents, delay in execution of plans and attainment of desired objectives can be linked to workplace disasters. The financial health of the firm dwindles when there is regular occurrence of work place accidents. The unwillingness of the management of the organization to train its employees regularly on safety work practices is also a contributing factor. When it comes to staying safe in a work place, the employees need to be enlightened on what they should do or not do. When safety practices in the work place is not taken seriously by communicating it regularly, it will affect employee performance by indirectly creating a discouraging reason to work in the organization and consequently, work force will be less productive. Wastes emitted from the production processes of most organizations affect the health of the workers and the environment which they operate. This increases mortality rates.
Workplace injury is a widespread problem that affects organizational effectiveness and employee health, safety, and well-being. According to the International Labour Organization (2013), each year there are 317 million non-fatal occupational accidents and 321,000 deaths from occupational accidents. The leading causes of fatal and non-fatal workplace injuries are overexertion, transportation incidents, falls, slips and trips, and contact with objects and equipment. Organizations pay a heavy price for workplace injuries in terms of workers’ compensation costs, employee health decline, safety and morale, lost productivity, and an increase in absenteeism. The ILO estimates that occupational accidents and diseases result in an annual 4 percent loss in global gross domestic product (GDP), or about US$2.8 trillion, in direct and indirect costs of injuries and diseases. Consequently, researchers and organizations alike are striving to identify ways to reduce these workplace safety incidents and their resultant injuries, illnesses and fatalities as it will aid in the development of organizations.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The following are the objectives of the study:
- To find out the strategies for improving work place safety.
- To determine the impact of workplace safety on employee performance.
- To identify the challenges to improving work place safety in business organization.
- To reveal the measures that should be taken to improve workplace safety in order to realize organizational objectives.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated based on the objectives of the study:
- What are the strategies for improving work place safety.
- What is the impact of workplace safety on employees performance.
- What are the challenges to improving work place safety in business organization.
- What measures should be taken to improve workplace safety in order to realize organizational objectives.
1.5 Statement of Hypothesis
- Ho: The strategies for improving work place safety are not provision of a safe working environment, conducting safety training regularly, rewarding employees for safety practices, communicating safety rules constantly and good organizational leadership.
Ha: The strategies for improving work place safety are provision of a safe working environment, conducting safety training regularly, rewarding employees for safety practices, communicating safety rules constantly and good organizational leadership.
- Ho: Workplace safety practices have a negative impact on employees performance.
Ha: Workplace safety practices have a positive impact on employees performance
- Ho: The challenges to improving work place safety in business organizations are not the lack of suitable workplace environment and facilities, insufficient safety measures in fire emergencies/lack of personal protective equipment, high cost of conducting safety trainings regularly, poor leadership skills.
Ho: The challenges to improving work place safety in business organizations are the lack of suitable workplace environment and facilities, insufficient safety measures in fire emergencies/lack of personal protective equipment, high cost of conducting safety trainings regularly, poor leadership skills.
- Ho: The measures to be taken to improve work place safety in business organizations in order to realize organizational objectives are not provision of a safe working environment for employees, availability of safety equipments to help in times of emergencies and recognition and reward framework.
Ha: The measures to be taken to improve work place safety in business organizations in order to realize organizational objectives are: provision of a safe working environment for employees, availability of safety equipments to help in times of emergencies and implementation of recognition and reward framework.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study is significant in the following ways:
- It will enable Exxon Mobil Nigeria Unlimited, Eket to know that the adoption of efficient workplace safety practices impacts positively on the employees thereby aiding in the attainment of organization goals.
- The study will reveal the challenges to workplace safety and the information will be useful in the reduction or even elimination of the problem.
- The study will also enable the case study to know the measures to adopt in improving workplace safety so as to attain organizational goals.
- Furthermore, the research work will be of immense assistance to other individuals, existing organizations, government establishments and researchers seeking that are seeking related information or conducting research on the subject.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This research work is focused on workplace safety and organizational goals attainment, using Exxon Mobil Nigeria Unlimited, Eket as a case study. Also included in the scope are:
- Four variables as listed in the research questions.
- The use of questionnaire as instrument of data collection.
- Use of descriptive statistics
- Fifty respondents
- The use of Chi-Square statistics
1.8 Limitations of the Study
The study was limited by the following factors:
Questionnaire Instrument: Not all respondents were willing to fill the questionnaire. Most of the respondents delayed in returning the completed questionnaire, thereby constituting delay.
Financial Factor: Inadequate funds affected the way data were collected since the researcher had to travel long distances for the distribution of the research questionnaire forms.
Time Factor: This affected the reduction in the size of the sample used for the study because the researcher had less than two months to complete the study.
The study was also limited to the information gathered from primary and secondary records.
1.9 Organization of the Study
In this research study, the researcher took a critical look at implementing corporate social responsibility, a necessity to Nigerian organizations (A case study of selected manufacturing firms in Akwa Ibom State). The research work was divided into five chapters.
Chapter one was on the background of the study, as well as statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, statement of hypothesis, significance of the study scope and limitation of the study, organization of the study and definition of terms.
Chapter two reviewed the related literature on the subject matter and contributions of different authors.
Chapter three was on the research methodology adopted to carry out the study.
Chapter four takes care of the data presentation, analysis and interpretation as well as discussion of findings.
Chapter five (5) encapsulates the summary, findings, conclusion and recommendations made by the researcher.
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