In the modern workplace, safety and security cover various issues, such as physical hazards on one end and digital security threats on the other. Workplace safety issues are common and could be, e.g. slips, trips, or falls; muscle and bodily injuries due to poor workstation design; and exposure to harmful substances or environment. Security threats are as numerous as safety issues entail, like data breaches, physical or intellectual property theft, and staff’s lives being endangered by external or internal actors. Many major regulations are vital in helping organizations.” In the U.S.U.S., the Occupational Safety and Health Act (O.S.H.A.) of 1970 functions as the basis of national legislation about health and safety at the workplace, demanding employers provide a safe and healthy working environment under the existing standards and regulations. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is critical to safeguarding health data security and privacy, essential for securely managing employee healthcare data. Beyond that, the General Data Protection Regulation (G.D.P.R.) in the European Union and similar laws worldwide advocate the security of personal data, including employee information, from cyber attacks and theft respectively. H.R.H.R. managers can differentiate how they could help mitigate these problems. This comprises performing frequent risk assessments to determine possible dangers and exposures, providing periodic training and education of employees about safety practices and S.O.P.s, and establishing a complete emergency response and incident management plan.
Furthermore, it is imperative to build a safe and secure environment where employees feel they are responsible for making reports. H.R.H.R. is not limited to using data encryption technology and installing physical security elements, such as access controls and surveillance, to protect the workplace. Organizations can bring advanced technology solutions and a comprehensive employee wellness strategy as an invaluable supplement to keep workplaces secure and safe. This is especially true when deploying cutting-edge cybersecurity strategies to counter digital threats, like firewalls, antivirus software, and regular cybersecurity breach training for employees (Regulation, G. D. P. (2018). Regarding physical well-being, buying ergonomic tools and creating a workplace appropriate for body health can significantly reduce the risk of musculoskeletal problems, a common work-induced disease.
Furthermore, the stigma of mental health became a source of concern amongst the work environment safety. Employers can provide programs that allow employees to balance their work, life, and ideas in the workplace, including access to mental health resources and a culture that supports the search for help without stigmatization. This system approach deals with immediate safety and security issues and impacts a resilient and productive workforce( Lee, Y. 2019).
Part B: Employee Relations and Engagement
The protection in place today to safeguard workers against abuse consists of many laws and regulations to guarantee appropriate treatment and equal opportunities and advocate for secure and safe job conditions for workers. In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (F.L.S.A.) sets the minimum wage, the overtime pay eligibility, and the records and child labour standards. The National Labor Relations Act (N.L.R.A.), as it is better known, gives workers the right to organize and bargain collectively with their employers. The Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (A.D.E.A.) are anti-discrimination laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion, national origin, age, or disability.
Nevertheless, despite these safeguards, more robust action is still needed to deal with the latest problems in the workplace. One example is the emergence of the gig economy, which has shown that changes in employment status are required to guarantee that workers receive their due benefits and protection. There is an additional demand for regulations that deal with the psychological side of work, which addresses stress and burn-out, which are gradually identified as the primary health hazards. The following fertile ground for budding union drives is the technology and digital platform industries because their workers face precarious labour conditions. In the meantime, green energy is emerging, and its sun is rising and taking a more central position in the economy. Such areas represent perfect platforms for organizing because of the “icing on the cake” of rapid progress, labour intensity, and risk of labour exploitation in a fast-changing regulatory environment(Levi et al. 2016).
Furthermore, the healthcare industry is highlighted as one of the essential aspects of union activities since employees work in high-stress conditions, which increase during pandemics. In the context of employee and labour relations, there is an unspoken notion that there should be an adequate reconsideration of the legal and statutory protections, which would be updated in line with the changing nature of work. Also, it entails extending protections to workers other than those employed in traditional employment relationships, such as independent contractors and casual workers in the gig economy who mostly lack the same level of protection as regular employees. Legislation could be enacted for these workers to access these benefits, such as healthcare, compensation, and a living. The other area is developing measures to improve protection against workplace harassment and discrimination with new strict laws and accelerating assistance for the victims. As the workplace evolves, with an increase in remote work, it is essential to ensure adequate protection that covers all types of workers and work situations to stop abuse and enable fair labour practices across industries (Disney. et al., 2020)
Reference
Disney, L., Koo, J., Carnes, S., & Warner, L. (2022). Essential but excluded: Using critical race theory to examine COVID-19 economic relief policies for undocumented U.S.U.S. workers. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 1-11.
Levi, M., Melo, T., Weingast, B. R., & Zlotnick, F. (2016). Opening access, ending the violence trap: Labor, business, government, and the National Labor Relations Act. In Organizations, Civil Society, and the Roots of Development (pp. 331-366). University of Chicago Press.
Lee, Y. (2019). Workplace health and its impact on human capital: seven key performance indicators of workplace health. Indoor environment and health, 43.
Regulation, G. D. P. (2018). General Data Protection Regulation (G.D.P.R.). Intersoft Consulting, Accessed in October, 24(1).
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