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If you’re an employer actively implementing a Health and Safety (H&S) strategy, you’re likely aware that employee participation is key to its success. But why is it that as managers double down on their efforts to improve H&S, participation, interest and engagement from employees only seem to dwindle? It’s no secret that engaged employees are […]
If you’re an employer actively implementing a Health and Safety (H&S) strategy, you’re likely aware that employee participation is key to its success. But why is it that as managers double down on their efforts to improve H&S, participation, interest and engagement from employees only seem to dwindle?
It’s no secret that engaged employees are not only happier but also take greater ownership over their work, resulting in increased productivity and a significant reduction of workplace-related accidents. And in a post Covid-19 world, health and wellness have assumed such a high priority for employees so much so that this study revealed that for some, workplace wellness surpasses even monetary compensation in importance.
This surge in demand for workplace wellness is also mirrored in the substantial increase in the need for occupational health and safety professionals. Paradoxically, despite these trends, there has been a discouragingly limited improvement in how employees engage with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) within their workplaces. Their perception of OHS as complex and distant has prevailed, which, in turn, has had a detrimental impact on employee retention rates.
Research conducted by The Rand Corporation, revealed that over 55% of employees were not provided with health and well-being initiatives in their workplaces. In cases where they were, only 31% reported that they had access and that they were actively engaging in them.
In another study, conducted by Deloitte, 68% of workers reported that they did not use the full value of the well-being resources that their organisations offered because accessing programs was either too time-consuming, confusing, or cumbersome. So despite 80% of employers in the study saying wellness and safety at their workplaces was a priority, a jarring 90% of workers reported that life at work was getting worse.
However, long-time research reveals a promising avenue for addressing this issue: Technology.
One source shows that the availability of wellness programs through digital solutions alone leads to a notable surge in employee participation rates, ranging from 5% to 10%. While another showed that companies leveraging technology to track safety observations enjoy a remarkable 54% higher participation rate compared to their counterparts relying on traditional paper-based methods.
Furthermore, technology has proven vital in fostering effective safety communication, feedback mechanisms, recognition, and accountability between workers and their employers. It places the power of managing one’s healthcare directly into the hands of employees, allowing them to track health indicators in real-time, complete and submit health assessments conveniently and even book and attend appointments remotely. This not only saves valuable time and effort but also reduces the disruption that in-person H&S initiatives can cause to busy schedules.
Using Technology for Employee OHS Participation
Using technology not only makes it easier for employers to comply with regulations, it also helps them create safer, more efficient, work environments that prioritise the well-being of their employees.
At Meddbase, we’ve had the privilege of helping tens of companies streamline their OHS strategies to make them more people-centric.
Here’s how our platform supports their efforts:
Having a user-friendly interface makes it easy for employees to document and submit incidents, hazards, and near misses, ensuring that valuable data is collected in a consistent and structured manner. The incident reporting feature allows for real-time notifications and status updates, enabling timely response and resolution. This simplicity is especially important because many employees have been found to ignore reporting incidents as required because of the burdensome and time-consuming nature of the process.
Managers use their dashboards to monitor and assess the performance of their OHS strategies. They can easily visualise key safety indicators, incident trends, and training progress and provide actionable insights to drive decision-making. The dashboards also give an overview of each employee’s level of engagement with the different programs that may be available to them.
The integration of wearables with our OHS platform offers a profound advantage for employees’ wellbeing even beyond the workplace. They empower users to have real-time visibility over their health and well-being, instilling a sense of personal responsibility. By actively participating in tracking vital signs, stress levels, and environmental factors, employees become more engaged in their overall well-being. This fosters a culture of self-care and accountability, where individuals are not only conscious of their safety on the job but also motivated to make healthier lifestyle choices, ultimately benefiting their long-term health and quality of life.
The platform enables managers to create and manage various microlearning modules, such as videos, quizzes and informative resources, ensuring that the workforce remains well-informed and up-to-date on safety protocols. This hub offers a convenient gateway to access OHS training materials from anywhere.
In addition to embracing technology, it’s crucial for managers to change how they think about Health and Safety (H&S).
According to an enlightening article by Deloitte, this means shifting from the old belief that wellness is solely an individual’s responsibility to a new way of thinking that emphasises shared responsibility. It also involves moving away from systems that rely on perks and benefits to ones that reimagine the very structure of wellness in the organisation.
This transformation, which underscores the idea of mutual commitment to H&S is not just a paradigm shift but a critical step towards a safer, healthier, and more resilient workplace.
