COMM 436
Journal 3 In my view, zero-injury goals are unrealistic targets because I feel that it is impossible to prevent all injuries from happening. An employer only has so much control over what happens in the workplace. It is critical for the employer to ensure that jobs are done in a safe manner. This is usually done by training employees in health and safety, supervising the workplace, identifying and addressing hazards, etc. But what about when employees are injured at the workplace but not while they are doing work? For example, an employee could be walking down some stairs at the workplace and slip and get injured. There could be no hazards in the way and all the safety measures in place, such as railing. The employee could have been thinking of something worrisome in his/her life and therefore missed a step. This would result in an injury which in my view is impossible to prevent. An employer cannot control how an employee acts and goes about in the day. The employer has no control over employees taking shortcuts to meet deadlines, coming to work tired or sick, or just not performing the job safely even though the employee has been put through training and been made aware. These things among others could all be the potential cause of a workplace injury. An employer cannot control the thinking or human nature of an employee. This is why I feel that zero injury goals are unrealistic. It’s true that prevention and training play a part in not having a high rate of workplace injuries, but I feel that luck also has a part to play. I believe the companies that go for months or years without injuries are just fortunate that no injuries happened. Also, even the companies with the best safety records are not injury free. Similarly, some industries are injury prone, such as construction and mining. I feel that it is essentially up to the employees themselves to be completely conscious about their work and their own safety. Obviously the employer will put safety measures in place to protect employees because no employer wants to hurt or kill their employees, but even then the employee has to be alert all day to avoid injury caused by their work or by themselves not acting safely in the workplace.