Stress and its impact on safety

I attended a seminar on occupational health and one of the topic discussed was stress management. Ill effects of stress on the person and its consequences are known to persons. It can create health problems for the person as well of lack of concentration, multitasking of the brain, non-cooperative body organs, etc which in turn can lead the person in doing work in unsafe manner.

A participant in his presentation told the audience that while opting for a job offer in a company, he insisted on working 0900-1700 hr job though in that particular company, the serious business  generally starts after lunch and will go on in to late night hours. He requested the company management to see his talent and output and not about working hours which the company agreed and the presented said he is happy and doing well even at the age of 71 now.

Though choice of working hours is somewhat difficult, still trying for the best package helps the persons to do well in their job.

Superiors at all levels too need to be counselled for proper behavior with subordinates so that the staff below are not stressed.

My boss used to tell me that one can argue with superior but not the other way. He said, it is the responsibility of superiors to listen to subordinates and try to solve their problems in the work place rather than adding the problems.

Employees at subordinate level too need to be counselled for not to think too much on an issue which will disappear after sometime.

In a joke circulated widely on internet, every person facing a problem will have two choices.
1. You can solve it, then why to worry.
2. You can't solve it, then also why to worry.

Let us be stress-free and be happy with what we are doing and what we can do instead of worrying about works which we can't do.

Etiquette / decorum during safety meetings, classes

Participants in the meetings and training programmes find it disturbing when they see some audience 

• argue without end
• talk with others
• get phone calls with loud ring tone
• converse in phone loudly not bothering about the session
• sleep (some with roaring sounds)
• read something
• etc

Such acts make it difficult for the meetings/classes to conduct smoothly and nothing can be achieved. Persons indulging in such acts should think how do they feel when they are conducting the meeting / class and then they will realize the mistakes they are making.

It is essential for all to maintain the discipline / decorum / etiquette atleast when they are in a group and if they do that even when they are alone or in closed rooms also, then it speaks of their good cultured behavior. And safety culture is defined as the way we behave when no one sees us.