12-1      Identify the responsibilities of both employers and employees under the general duties clause of the OSH Act.

Employers have to provide employees with a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm and are required to comply with occupational safety and health standards identified in the act.

Employees also have a duty to comply with occupa­tional safety standards, rules, and regulations in all cases while at work.

12-2      Describe the types of violations that OSHA looks for in inspections.

Violations include the following:

Willful—where the employer knew that a hazardous condition existed but made no effort to eliminate the hazard

Serious—where the hazard could cause injury or illness that would most likely result in death or sig­nificant physical harm

Other than serious—where any illness or injury incurred is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm, but the violation does have a direct impact on safety and health

De minimis—violations that have no direct or imme­diate safety or health danger

Failure to abate—where the employer has not cor­rected a previous violation for which a citation was issued and the settlement date has passed

Repeated—the employer has been cited for the same type of violation within 5 years

12-3      Discuss EAPs and EWPs and what their value is to companies and employees.

EAPs and EWPs both help employees with their work-life balance. EAPs provide confidential coun­seling and other personal services to employees to help them cope with stress created by personal issues related to either work or home life. EWPs help employees with their physical wellness. They provide programs to employees such as health edu­cation, training and fitness programs, weight man­agement, and health risk assessments.

12-4      Compare functional and dysfunctional stress and how to manage dysfunctional stress.

Functional stress helps to improve performance by challenging and motivating people to meet organiza­tional objectives. People perform better under some pressure. However, too much stress is dysfunctional. Dysfunctional stress may cause people to feel over­whelmed by anxiety, tension, or pressure and can lead to burnout.

Stress management techniques include good time management skills, the ability to relax once in a while (in whatever form you choose), good nutrition, moderate amounts of exercise, positive thinking skills, and a strong personal support network. All of these tools help us cope with stress successfully.

12-5      List the top concerns for security in the workplace today.

The four biggest concerns of employers today are cyber security, workplace violence, business continu­ity planning, and employee selection and screening. Cyber security deals with the company’s computer and network security. Workplace violence is another major issue because of the continuing rise in inci­dents of workplace violence. Third, business conti­nuity planning has become a much more significant issue to most employers in the past 10 years, partly because of terrorism threats but also because of a number of large-scale environmental and natural disasters worldwide. Finally, employee selection and screening have become more of an issue because of the problem of negligent hires and the possibility for increased workplace violence if we allow individuals who have a history of violence into our organization.

12-6      Explain ways in which companies can make the workplace safer for employees.

The first thing that needs to happen is we have to train everyone to deal with anger and prevent vio­lence. Next, we need to have, and follow, written policies on workplace violence. A zero-tolerance policy is the best preventive policy. When violence occurs, take swift disciplinary action against violent employees. We also need to have a strong system for dealing with employee grievances that should also allow us to track incidents of violence. Finally, demotions, firing, and layoffs should be handled in a humane way to prevent displaced anger.

12-7      Define the key terms found in the chapter margins and listed following the Chapter Summary.

Complete the Key Terms Review to test your understanding of this chapter’s key terms.