Activities to Consider in Commemorating World Day for Safety and Health at Workplace in Kenya: April 28, 2016

Author Reference

Lango, B. (2016): “Activities to Consider in Commemorating World Day for Safety and Health at Workplace in Kenya: April 28, 2016”. Intel Fire Group of Companies Blog. Nairobi, Kenya.

 

Another World day for safety and health at the workplace is here with us and probably if you leave in Kenya you must have noted the awareness campaign launched by the authority concerned with safety and health in the country. The interesting bit about this year’s world day is the theme “Workplace Stress: A collective Challenge” which signals that organizations and companies through the spearhead of their Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) officers organize activities in relation to this theme to capture safety and health at the workplace. If you are working for a company where targets are what matters whether it is a world day or not, then this day is another opportunity to package a product to sell in support of this year’s world day. Therefore do not be surprised if one or more of the media houses calls you for an opportunity to feature your company in a supplement dubbed “supporting workers interest during this world day for safety and health at workplace”. This is good for publicity and as earlier mentioned in one of the critiques, most organizations and companies focus so much of their efforts on publicity at the expense of their employees. As the officer in charge of safety and health at your organization and in line with this year’s theme, seek authorization to arrange any one, a few or all of the activities mentioned below.

Activities to organize during World Day for Safety and health at Workplace in Kenya are not necessarily rocket science but should be geared towards the theme and not restricted if it incorporates other general OSH issues. The major activities in the Kenyan context are numerous as the causes of stress in Kenyan workplaces are varied and enormous. With an election approaching, the heightened political activities only add to the woes of the Kenyan workers. The persons in charge of OSH in various companies should therefore device innovative ways to celebrate the day while maintaining the theme so that next time you are commemorating the same day your employees don’t say but it’s the same activities year in year out. In the process of exciting your creative self in activities to mark the World Day for safety and health at workplace and in Kenya, consider the following:

A. Organize OSH Fun Day

It is April, the only month we have fools’ day out, workers day and now the coveted OSH fun day. Convince the company as the OSH officer in charge to organize a fun day with an OSH theme and the activities of the day completely geared towards achieving the World Day for Safety and Health at Workplace with most shaping stress at the workplace at manageable levels. This fun day should not take a whole day if it is totally impossible, but it can surely be one afternoon session on the 28^th day of April where the employees come together and have fun activities as facilitated by the OSH committee. If organizing the activities becomes a daunting task then your procurement department will be on standby before the day to procure a facilitator of the day at your recommendation. This will enable you transfer the stress theme off your chest to the outsourced company and this, folks, is the epitome of innovative World Day with you (read OSH officer) at the center of being awarded HCC (read Head of Company Commendation).

B. Joining the World Day Public March

During these kind of events the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSHS) under the ministry of labour in every country usually takes lead. Since the writer is yet to review the Kenyan synopsis of activities, the neighbouring country Uganda has made available the cadre of activities leading up to the D-Day. As one of its activities, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development Uganda has marked Kampala Capital City as the venue of the event and will be holding a day long match around the City with the stakeholders in the OSH industry. Once you have taken note of Kenya’s synopsis and confirmed that there will be match around the city or in a stadium within the city, as the safety officer your participation in solidarity with other workers and in remembrance of those who died due to occupational accidents and or illness is paramount. Form a select team from the workers body to represent the organization at the march as this will give confidence to the overall employees that the company values there welfare. A part from the fact that the company will be more interested in marketing itself at the very least it has shown that your interest is of great concern and value furthermore you being seen in as their brand ambassador is enough an honour.

C. Print and Send Value Appreciation Cards to Employees

Researches have in the recent past indicated that most employees would want their employer to show their appreciation to the work they are doing by simply saying THANK YOU!! Leaving in a world where it is a man-eat-man-society and in Kenya where…., it will be prudent on this D-Day for the OSH officer liaising with the directors of the company to organize for a thank you card that is tailored either to the individual members or their departments. We are in a digital world with digital leaders, why then should an OSH officer not be digital? In supporting the environment choose to deliver the company compassion and appreciation cards digitally, unless the target recipient has every indication otherwise. This card can be accompanied by a small but branded gift for the employee to reflect on while going through company related stress and take not because this can also be used to reflect on negatively like this “All these workload and all I get is a branded cup as if one can eat a cup”. Remember this is an indication that the company cares, you can imagine the statements if there was no appreciation by the company.

D. Organize Motivation Training on Stress Management

The greatest gift you can give to an employee is motivation, the same way the greatest gift to human kind is hope. Motivate them to excite interest in work they are doing and especially if it is the same activities at the same workstation in the same town in the same environment until one retires, relieves, or re-engineer an exit. This will not just be a motivational training but training with the theme biased towards stress management. Since everyone and anybody seems to claim they are motivational speakers, as the OSH officer you might want to consider the background of the speaker to be in tandem with OSH knowledge and skills before the motivational toque comes in place as you might get a comedian in the name of a motivational speaker and loose the day’s objective.

E. Organize Employee Mass Prayer

This is mostly suited for companies with large population and operating in village or remote areas. An example will be a flower farm with a total workforce population of 1500 or lower or higher in a remote (read away from town) farm in Kenya. The OSH team in collaboration with the management can organize an afternoon MASS (Prayer session) where all the employees will be in attendance together with their families. Believe it or not prayers at the workplace do wonders as it raises the moral of the employee and brings hope closer home at the workplace. With this you will not only raise the motivational levels of your employees and reduced stress but also link with their human kind that there is hope for a better tomorrow and the company is here to partner with them and not stress them out. Kenya being a nation of believers and more so in the village and remote areas, this gesture will make even the village yawn to be associated with the company and the company shall also have achieved its corporate image management strategic objective.

These activities are suggested after a survey of the Kenyan workplaces capped with experience in field and how the World Day for Safety and Health at Workplace easily go unnoticed in Kenya as non has been enlightened on what role they are supposed to play on this important day. Now that you have struggled to read and reached these far send more suggestions on activities to add to database for the benefit of knowledge management in public safety service. Remember World Day is just one day in a year that relates to OSH, what you do with your remaining days is your…..company business.

  

The writer is a PhD Generalist in Public Safety Service Delivery

Contact: benard@intelfiregroup.com