Beaumont Hotel - Health and Safety in the Workplace - Case Study Example

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE (Student Name) (Institution) (Instructor) (Course No) (Date) Introduction Employee health and safety is one of the most important considerations in business enterprises be they small, medium or large. Globally, employers strive to ensure that their employees have safe working environments free from all kinds of risks (Walters &Nicholas, 2009, p. 45). The provision of safe working conditions by the employers stems from the realization of the importance of employees in organizations. Additionally, the effects that poor employee health can have on organizational performance and success are diverse, forcing the employers to put the necessary measures to ensure the safety of employees at work. The issues related to the workplace health and safety have resulted in hotly contested debated in the industrialized nations. In the European Union for instance, improvement of the working environments was declared a target in the treaty creating the union (Great Britain &Rooney, 2008, p.155-156). Additionally, the determination of the commission towards workplace conditions improvement is seen by the inclusion of the specific working conditions in its social agenda in 2001. However, despite these efforts, the working conditions in the European Union are still an issue owing to the high numbers of occupation-related health risks and accidents. The internal environment of an organization comprises all the elements within an organization. These elements include the employees of the organization, the management of the organization as well as the corporate culture of the organization which determines the behavior of the employees within the organization. The indoor environmental quality, therefore, comprises the quality of these internal elements of an organization that is likely to affect the overall performance of the organization. The indoor environment quality refers to the quality of a building’s environment including the health and well-being of the occupants (Bluyssen, 2009, p. 1-10). It is especially significant in the performance of an organization since it is directly linked to the performance of the employees that is central to the success of a business. Moreover, the internal environment quality determine whether or not a business is likely to get more customers or not. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of health and safety policies on the indoor environmental quality of an organization. The paper specifically focuses on the hotel industry in the United Kingdom. Case Study: Beaumont Hotel The Beaumont Hotel is one of the most exclusive hotels in the United Kingdom providing meals and accommodation services to both domestic and international visitors. Managed by the Corbin and King Hotels Limited, the hotel ensures strict adherence to the Health and Safety at Work Policy of 1974. Additionally, the hotel adheres to the lease obligations placed upon it by Grosvenor. The hotel also ensures compliance with other statutory obligations such as the Hotel Proprietor’s Act, the Equality Act as well as the Data Protection Act. The quality of services at the hotel resemble the services at other Corbin and King managed hotels within London. The vision of the hotel is to provide excellent services, quality accommodation and value for money for the guests. The operations of the hotel revolve around the Corbin and King Hotels Limited philosophy, which strives to create places where both the visitors and the employees have a sense of belonging and provision of hospitality from the heart. Consequently, the hotel is one of the leading hotels in London in offering memorable guest experiences, while prioritizing the guest recognition to encourage repeat business. Additionally, the hotel welcomes all visitors regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation, disability and religion. The hotel comprises a reception, 73 bedrooms and suites, restaurant and American bar, small privet dinning and resident bar as well as a Spa and gymnasium. The hotel management is mandated to employ highly qualified staff to help in the operation of the hotel to ensure optimum customer service standards in all the areas of operation of the business. Generally, the hotel employs nearly 200 employees both on part time and full time conditions. As part of corporate social responsibility, the majority of the employees are sourced from the local communities. The hotel has employed a security manager to help in ensuring the safety of the visitors, workers, the general public and their property. As part of taking security measures, the hotel has installed CCTV cameras to help in identifying the people entering and leaving the premise. The recordings on the cameras are kept for a maximum of 31 days. Apart from the CCTV cameras, the hotel has an incident log that is made available to the relevant authorities such as the local authorities and the police upon request. The incident log comprises among others; the complaints received regarding crime and disorder, the crimes reported to the venue, the seizures of drugs and offensive weapons and the visits by relevant authority or emergency service. The hotel is open to guests 24 hours a day and seven days in a week. The variation of the operation hours, however, depends on the nature of the use of the various services offered in various places within the hotel. The hotel’s basement and ground floors are open to the public while the upper floors are specifically used by the visitors. The hours of operation of the hotel are controlled by the city council’s planning and licensing policy. The Spa and gymnasium services are strictly used by the residents of the hotel. The IEQ Policies and Beaumont Hotel There are several policies that govern the indoor working environments such as the hotels in the United Kingdom. There policies aim at improving the health and well-being of the occupants of such buildings while carrying out their activities. These policies stem from the realization that better indoor working environments play a significant role in reducing the sick building syndrome and the illnesses related with poorly maintained buildings. The Indoor Air Quality Air quality is one of the important considerations in the performance of businesses especially the hotel sector (ICMMM, Brebbia & Longhurst, 2010, p. 323). The UK air quality policy aims to control or eliminate the production of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide that are harmful to human health. The policy is framed from the realization that indoor air pollution, though not commonly recognized results in more illnesses and deaths caused by the inhalation of toxic gases. Indoor air pollution is caused by the materials within a building such as the furniture and furnishings and activities such as the use of paints, cooking, cleaning products, the use of air fresheners and smoking (ICSEB, Hankinson, Hojer, Howlette &Jain, 2013, p.367). The Beautmont Hotel strives to ensure that high air quality standards to make the working environment comfortable for its employees as means of attaining sustainability. First, the hotel prohibits smoking in its premises due to the health effects it has on the occupants of the building. The other area that can be associated with indoor air pollution in the hotel is the kitchen where cooking takes place. The hotel ensures that it uses the high energy, low carbon fuels such as electricity and LPG in cooking. These kinds of fuel re associated with complete combustion, limiting the production of dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide. The cooking equipment in the hotel are regularly checked for leakages that may cause indoor air pollution and fixed or replaced. Moreover, the hotel uses the natural cross-ventilation in which windows are located on both sides of its rooms to provide room for the natural flow of air. This way the management ensures that Beautmont Hotel indoor environment is safe for the workers as well as the guests. Housekeeping Housekeeping refers to the general cleanliness and maintenance of a business or property. Generally, housekeeping is important since it helps in the reduction of various hazards in the workplace that may have negative impacts on the health and safety of individuals (Carroon, 2010, p. 63). However, housekeeping is one of the areas that should be adequately checked by the hotel industry because it is one of the sources of air pollution and discomfort of employees and guests in those hotels. Cleaning is, therefore, important in ensuring that the hotels remain promoters of the health and safety of the occupants. The Beautmont Hotel engages in sustainable cleaning practices as a way of ensuring high environmental quality. One of the sustainable housekeeping practices in which the hotel engages is the effective cleaning of surfaces in all areas of the hotel such as the reception, kitchen and the guest rooms to avoid cases of allergens and pathogens remaining on surfaces, thus reducing the chances of the sick building syndrome. The hotel ensures that the drainages are regularly checked too avoid cases of stagnant waters that facilitate microbial growth. The removal of stagnant waters by the hotel staff limits the chances of bad odors resulting from the growth and multiplication of bacteria. Moreover, the hotel uses naturally made detergents in its cleaning functions, thus limiting the production of poisonous gases from the artificial detergents, resulting in safe working conditions for the employees .This way the management of the hotel ensures that the hotel provides the necessary conditions of work for the employees, reducing the occurrence of Legionella disease. A healthy staff leads to high productivity in the long-run. Ventilation and Air Conditioning Apart from maintaining good air quality in buildings and practicing good housekeeping, the other hotel policy that can be used in maintaining efficient working environment is ventilation and air conditioning. Ventilation is important in buildings since it provides the channel through which fresh air can get into the building to reduce the concentrations of contaminants in the building (Rassia &Pardalos, 2012, p. 30). Many studies reveal that poorly ventilated buildings provide high chances for the spread of communicable diseases such as cold and influenza, thereby causing the occupants of buildings to miss work. To avoid such situations, the hotel has installed the HVAC systems to help in ventilation thus keeping the hotel safe and free from contaminants. The HVAC systems do not only provide the hotel with fresh air but also provides a comfortable working environment for the employees. Moreover, all the hotel rooms have windows on both sides to help in the maximum circulation of air, thus avoiding dumbness that may result in sicknesses. Impact of the Policies to Indoor Working Environment The Beaumont Health and Safety policy has significant consequences on the indoor working environment. One such impact of the indoor environment quality policies in the hotel is improved performance of the employees (Houldsworth & Jirasinghe, 2006, p. 35). By ensuring the maintenance of high standards of health and safety in the organization, the hotel is able to keep its employees free from diseases thus reducing the cases of absence due to illnesses or injuries. Naturally, healthy workers have more determination to work and are at less risks of having terminal illnesses. This boosts the morale of the employees, making them more productive. Another impact of the policies in the hotel is the reduced organizational financial burden, resulting in the growth of the organization (Tompa, Culyer & Dolinschi, 2008, p. 133-291). The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that organizations take responsibility for the accidents and injuries at work. By implementing its indoor environment policies in all its departments, the organization ensures that the safety of its workers comes first. The result is a reduction in the number of workplace accidents and workplace related illnesses, thus reduced organizational expenditure on the treatment of its workers. The reduction in expenditure and increase in income results in overall growth of the organization. Another impact of the indoor environment policy of the Beaumont Hotel is the reduction of pressure on the employees (Hughes, 2006, p. 101-153). Implementation of the policies help to reduce the pressure put on the employees covering for the sick ones. When an employee is sick, for instance, his duties are performed by other employees resulting in the overworking of such employees. This reduces employee morale and productivity. The health and safety policy helps reduce the chances of illnesses in the organization, enabling all employees to be at work, thus reducing the burden on the other employees. The other impact of the health and safety policy is that is helps the employees to have increased knowledge of the importance of their safety, thus enabling them to engage in activities that reduce the risks of accidents and injury while performing their duties (Reily, Sirgy & Gorman, p. 137). One of the requirements of the safety policy in the Beaumont Hotel is the training of the employees. The hotel ensures that it offers training to the employees both on induction and on the job. To ensure effective training o the employees, the training manager identifies the training needs of the employees and ensures that the employees understand the health and safety policies. This increases the employee capacity of preventing and dealing with risks when they arise, ultimately resulting in employee satisfaction and organizational success (Kraiger, 2014, p. 443). Additionally, the indoor environment policies help to provide a comfortable working environment where the employees are engaged in the activities of the organization (Major &Burke, 2013, p. 291). The indoor environment policies of the hotel focus primarily on the employees. Consequently, it ensures that the hotel provides safe working conditions, making the workers to feel appreciated. Additionally, the hotel consults its workers on the possible ways of risk management to increase productivity. Conclusion With regards to the above discussion, it is evident that the health and safety policies in organizations play an important role in promoting a comfortable indoor working environment. Additionally, the safety policies helps organizations to comply with the set national policies on the health and safety of workers. It is therefore, important for organizations to embrace workers safety for organizational success and growth. References Bluyssen, P (2009). The Indoor Environment Handbook. How to make Buildings Healthy and Comfortable. London: UK. Routledge Publishing, P. 1-10. Carroon, J. (2010). Sustainable preservation: greening existing buildings. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley, p. 63. Kraiger, K. (2014). The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of training, development, and performance improvement. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, p. 443. Great Britain, & Rooney, T. (2008). The role of the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive in regulating workplace health and safety: third report of session 2007-08. Vol. 2, Vol. 2. London, Stationery Office, p. 155-156. Houldsworth, E., & Jirasinghe, D. (2006). Managing and measuring employee performance. London [u.a.], Kogan Page, p. 35. Hughes, F. R. (2006). The effect of major organizational policy on employee attitudes toward graduate degrees. Fort Belvoir, VA, Defense Technical Information Center, p. 101- 153. 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Economic evaluation of interventions for occupational health and safety: Developing good practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 133-291. Read More