4.6 Safety and health and working conditions

Economic success and corporate competitiveness are of prime importance both for the enterprise and its workforce. For development which is future-orientated, enterprises increasingly need qualified, motivated and efficient workers who are able and willing to contribute actively to technical and organisational innovations.

Healthy workers working in healthy working conditions are thus an important precondition for the enterprise to work smoothly and productively. An enterprise’s economic goals do not — or should not — conflict with its goals relating to working conditions; rather, they complement each other. Unfortunately, working conditions show that the health of the workforce is not always sufficiently recognised as a productivity factor. Certainly there are now fewer ‘classical’ health risks such as those brought about by heavy work or work in bad weather conditions; but there has been an upsurge in burdens such as work intensification, time pressure, greater responsibility without balancing authority and high concentration or, on the other side, monotony and social isolation. These burdens show up as health disorders (such as musculo-skeletal disorders), stress and the burn-out syndrome, increased absenteeism and lack of motivation.

In a broader meaning, safety and health at work extends into the management fields of working time organisation, training and learning, work design or individual career development. Sensibly designed, all such elements can have positive impacts on the health of the workforce. Moreover the workforce itself, by labour-management committees, can contribute to improving safety and health conditions on their own workplace.