Throughout this blog, we have shown how PPE can reduce cost, improve productivity and increase profitability. But there is another area that PPE is closely linked to yet not widely connected with, and that is Quality of Work Life and morale.
Today, Quality of Work Life (QWL) plays a major role in an organizations ability to be successful. Employees are much more mobile than they used to be. They change jobs for a few more dollars a week and they change jobs if what is usually called "working conditions" are not to their satisfaction.
Progressive customer service management talks about the need to create "memorable experiences" for customers. They talk about "touch points" which are every way a customer comes in contact with the company and the overall, cummulative impression a customer develops of the company from those "touches". QWL works in much the same way. Its goal is to create memorable work experiences for employees in as many ways as possible so that an employee develops a positive "quality" of work life from working there.
Every industry and company are different in terms of what makes it a "good place to work" but recent studies have honed in on the 7 top QWL considerations:
1. Economic factors
a. Compensation or wages
b. Fringe benefits
2. Job satisfaction
a. Occupation stress
b. Recognition
3. Working environment
a. Culture
b. Congenial coworkers
c. Relationship with supervisor/management
4. Health and Safety
5. Training
6. Opportunity for advancement
7. Grievance procedure
PPE comes into play in both the "Safety and Health" and "Job Satisfaction" factors. Nothing is a greater stressor than anxiety or fear. Workers want to leave home in the morning confident that they will return in the evening without being hurt on the job. When they arrive at work they want to feel confident that their employer is serious about safety and health and has done everything possible to eliminate hazards to make the work environment as safe as possible.
Nothing is a more tangible expression of the company's committment to the safety and health of its employees than the PPE they supply. Every time an employee puts on his or her PPE it sends a message from management. If it is top quality, carefully selected, fitted properly and they are well trained in its use and maintenance, it says the company cares about them and the quality of their work life. Facing the day in a confident, positive frame of mind, a well protected employee will stay on the job longer, produce more with fewer mistakes and rejects.
On the other hand, employees know what is quality PPE and what is not, they know what fits well and feels good and what does not, they know when they have not received any PPE training, and it makes them anxious and apprehensive. If the PPE they have been supplied always come from the lowest bidder, and the company looks at it as just another regulatory expense that should be minimized, that message comes through to the work force also and adversely affects the quality of their work life.
An anxious, uncomfortable, stressed worker is far more likely to have an accident, and is definately less productive than his or her well protected counter part.
Safety programs and policies are important to the quality of work life and morale but they are intangible; employees cannot feel or experience them. But top quality PPE is tangible proof that they are working for a company that is committed to sending them home safe and sound to their families each evening.
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