The importance of organizational measures taken by workplace managers to ensure safe and healthy working conditions

The topic mentioned in the title deserves a much longer explanation and many more sections covering different topics, and probably even a multi-volume description. Without claiming to be exhaustive, I would like to highlight the importance of a certain management approach that serves the interests of both employers and employees.

This approach (at least in my opinion) is that of a „caring leader” who manages and leads their „team” with the attentiveness of a good farmer, a good head of the family, etc.

What do I mean? I will illustrate this with the measures taken following an incident of illness at a workplace.

It happened today.

The incident occurred during a health education session organized at a workplace. One of the employees became ill during the presentation and fell from his chair as he fainted. He suffered a bleeding wound on his head approximately the size of a palm. 

Based on the accounts, at the time of the incident—with the exception of the speaker—you could almost feel the people's paralysis (they looked around in disbelief, no one really moved to intervene, the inaction lasted between 30 seconds and a minute).

The injured person was treated with equipment from the first aid kit kept at the workplace, and an ambulance was called. The arriving ambulance crew transported the injured person to the appropriate hospital for further examination.  

Following the above events, those present were preoccupied with the incident involving their colleague for days, and their workplace manager was also unable to rest easy about what had happened.

Following the incident, the manager followed the usual protocol and took care of the following:

– clarified with the occupational safety representative that, based on the information gathered (the employee has blood pressure problems and is taking medication for this; the illness occurred 40 minutes into the presentation), the fainting and injury caused by the illness do not qualify as an accident, and therefore not as a work-related accident, as follows:

            „Accident: a single external impact on the human body that occurs suddenly or within a relatively short period of time, independently of the will of the injured person, and causes injury, poisoning, or other (physical or mental) damage to health, or death.”

The employee's illness did not occur suddenly or within a short period of time (the session had been going on for at least 40 minutes), so it was not considered an accident and, consequently, not a work-related accident.

Note: Of course, there is debate about what constitutes suddenly or, in light of the case, what is the relatively short time. We would get different time intervals for everyone if we had to determine the extent/magnitude for each person individually, and this also depends on many factors, e.g.:

            – whether the person was able to get quality rest/sleep the night before the workday

            – what kind of clothing you wear (comfortable; comfortable and not too warm or too cold, possibly a tight belt, other clothing, new shoes that are not yet broken in, etc.) 

            – how suitable the location is for the person (too hot, too cold, drafty, lighting conditions, comfort of seating, etc.)

            – psychosomatic pressure (the subject of the training itself may be disturbing/how disturbing it is; personal problems at the time; etc.)

            – physical condition (e.g., still recovering from illness/cold, etc.)

The examples listed above serve only to illustrate how many variables there are in a given situation, the temporal course of a person's reaction when they reach the threshold where an accident is almost inevitable.

– notified his superior

– notified the employee's relatives (this was done immediately after the illness)

– recorded the incident in the accident log (noting that it is not currently being treated as a workplace accident)

– reorganized working hours to ensure the smooth continuation of work

– informed the affected staff about what had happened

– etc.

If we look at the events in simplified terms, the manager's actions could even be considered over, but in reality, they are not.

The injured employee's discomfort should not be ignored. It is advisable to involve the occupational health physician in order to clarify the case (whether any restrictions are necessary during the medical fitness assessment for the job). It is necessary to clarify whether this should be treated as a one-off incident or whether it was an important signal to the organization that something needs to be done (examination, adjustment of medication, replacement of existing medication, etc.).

There have been several cases where patients have been discharged from hospital (officially cured, as they were symptom-free during the observation period), but the cause of their illness has not actually been determined, and the investigation into the root cause has been halted.

The manager acts correctly when, in organizing working hours, he or she employs and directs the employee to perform tasks in accordance with the following criteria:

– In order to ensure the employee's safety at work, until their health condition stabilizes (they receive treatment/medication that prevents further episodes of illness), they should not be assigned to work alone. With the help of the occupational health physician, the employee is „obliged” to undergo the necessary examinations.

– Where possible, working hours that differ from the usual life cycle (e.g., night shifts) should be avoided.

– Work breaks must be provided at regular intervals during shorter working hours.

It is advisable to take the above measures so that if such a situation occurs again with the employee, help can be provided as quickly as possible and everyone (employee, employer, immediate supervisor, family members) is spared an unpleasant situation.

In closing.

The incident made me think about one more thing.

The role of the occupational health physician is significant in determining the health suitability of employees during a job suitability examination.

My personal experience tells me that, unfortunately, it does not usually work well, or rather, everything looks fine on paper, but important priorities are overlooked, such as contacting the employee's family doctor or reviewing the database of the hospital responsible for the employee's place of residence in order to map out the employee's medical history.

In fact, the doctor relies on the employee's statement, although a basic health assessment is typically performed (measurement of weight/height; blood pressure measurement; lung screening; vision test; etc.).

Author: József Szendrődi