Coca-Cola CSR-WorkPlace Coca-Cola CSR -

Coca-Cola CSR-WorkPlace

Coca-Cola CSR - WorkPlace

Humans and the Workplace

Human beings spend a large number of hours working, and where they work can really matter. If they have a poor environment in which to work, they can end up miserable and unhappy - and that is not good for their productivity (Dubinsky, et al., 1995). Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make the workplace great, so people can enjoy their work as much as possible and so they can feel safe and secure and comfortable when they go to work for the day. While not all working environments are ideal, all of them can be made better with some effort and some understanding. One of the most important things to consider is that every person is different. There are many different attitudes, styles, and beliefs in a workplace - especially if someone works for a large company. Because of all the diversity, there can be tension - but it can be avoided or at least controlled when people are willing to work together to find common ground (Depree, 1990).

Diversity is one of the best things about a big workplace, and it can be used to everyone's advantage if it is done the right way. For example, because different people have different perspectives, there are many ideas that will come up in meetings. Instead of only considering the ideas that one person likes, or even the ideas that the majority likes, it is much more important to consider all of the realistic ideas that have been presented. People who are different do not exist in a bubble. There are others like them, and it is possible that the company is ignoring an important market by not considering the ideas that one person has and that might be significant. Listening is one of the best things that people can do for one another in a workplace environment, even if there is never complete agreement on many of the thoughts and ideas that are provided to consider.

Without being able to listen and communicate well, a person who is focused on making sure that he or she is part of the team may end up ignored instead. Miscommunication is a serious problem for many workplaces and all kinds of companies. Big or small, no company is immune to the ideas behind miscommunication. It is very easy to misunderstand what someone is saying or what that person means by what is said. That can be exacerbated by things like body language and culture. People from different cultures do not speak or act or gesture the same way as people from other cultures, and the clash between the different cultures can make for a very confusing mix of styles. If someone really wants to make sure that he or she is getting along well with others and being understood, listening is key - and so is repeating the information that a person feels he or she heard back to the speaker, in order to make sure that nothing was lost in translation.

The workplace can be daunting because of culture, diversity, and other issues, but that does not have to make the workplace un-enjoyable or cause it to become a place where the employees are not comfortable. Being open and honest about issues that come up, and striving to work together as easily and clearly as possible are both vital aspects of being an employee of any company. Larger companies can sometimes make people feel as though they are lost in the shuffle, but really they are not - they just need to make their voices heard and pay attention to what others have to say so that there can be cohesiveness and strength throughout the entire organization. When that is achieved, it is very hard for a business to fail. Teamwork, true teamwork, is far and away one of the greatest things that any company can get from its employees, and when it gets that it will be able to move forward and head off any problems that may come up from competition or from anything else that happens in or to the company as a whole.

Safety and Health

The safety and health of people in the workplace are both very important issues for any company to consider (Blau, 1993). No matter the size of the company, there are numerous health and safety risks that can be addressed and even avoided. There are more aspects of safety than people realize, too, which is something that all companies should be considering. For example, health and safety are not just physical, but also emotional and mental. Even if someone has an environment that is physically safe, that person may be mentally or emotionally mistreated at that company - and that makes the work environment unsafe. Fortunately, more and more employees in companies all over the world are being encouraged to speak up about any concerns they have, and that can help them get more done in the sense of better treatment and safer environments for employees everywhere.

Health and safety are two of the most significant aspects for any employee in any company (Booysen, 1999). Not everyone wants to spend a lot of time worrying about it, but they do have to spend time considering it in order to make sure that they are on the right track with what they are providing to a company and what a company is giving them in return for what they offer. In other words, all of the people in a company should be aware of health and safety issues, and they should take the time to understand all of the aspects of health and safety in such a way that they can convey any problems to management and to those higher up in the company who will listen to their concerns. Legitimate concerns should be handled by a company quickly, because health and safety violations can lead to injuries, sicknesses, and lawsuits. Those, naturally, are things that any company wants to avoid - especially if the company knows that it will be at fault because it has not yet done something to correct a problem of which it had already been made aware.

By considering mental health and safety along with physical health and safety, companies are showing that they are proactive in taking good care of their employees. That is something that employees notice and appreciate, and it makes them more willing to work hard for a company when they feel as though that company is actually concerned about the health and well-being of its employees. Companies that do not show concern for the health and safety of their employees do not generally have happy employees that would go out of the way to help the company - and that can eventually drive a company right into the ground and cause it to go out of business for a lack of good, dedicated employees that will stick with the company through thick and thin. Fortunately for companies that want to do the right thing, there are many ways to show employees that their health and safety is important and that the company is interested in protecting and accommodating them.

Hiring employees with disabilities and making the work environment safe for those employees is one of the best ways that a company can show its dedication to health and safety - and also to diversity and uniqueness. Companies that are concerned about the health of their employees can also offer insurance, and provide perks for the employees such as health snacks in the break room. Many employees would eat healthier at work if they had these kinds of snacks available instead of the usual junk food that is seen in so many offices. That can seem counterintuitive if one runs a candy company, for example, but there is no reason that people who work with candy all day need to spend their break time eating it. Heath is important, and employees who are healthy and who are safe at work each day will be more productive. They have more to offer the company, which means that they will help the company in the long run and the company will get back much more than it put into the programs to help the employees stay healthy.

HIV / AIDS

Diseases like HIV / AIDS are serious problems, and they have been problems in other countries for a long time. For people who live in the U.S. they are a concern, but most people understand how to prevent HIV / AIDS and they know that, if they do contract the disease, there are many different medications they can take that will help them live a long life. People who have HIV no longer have a death sentence, provided they take their medications correctly and do not develop complications. Those who have AIDS, which is what HIV becomes if left untreated, are in a more serious crisis with their health - but they are still living much longer than they did in the past as new and better medications become available to help them treat their disease and any complications that might arise from it. Overall, though, the biggest problem with HIV / AIDS is that there are so many people in countries like Africa who are contracting it and who cannot get proper treatment for it (Batchelder, 2002).

A large segment of the population is sick in that country with HIV / AIDS, and more children are being born to mothers who are infected. Most of the time, the infection passes to the children before or during birth, and that drastically shortens the life spans for these children (Cohen, 2005). This is a sad state of affairs, but there is only so much that can be done. The people in Africa and other countries where HIV / AIDS is rampant need education, but they also need supplies like condoms to protect themselves from disease. If they do not understand about protection and/or they do not understand that they could catch a deadly disease if they are not careful with their sexual life, HIV / AIDS will continue to spread. There was a time not that long ago when scientists had no idea how to treat HIV / AIDS in any country, and there was speculation that the disease could wipe out very large segments of the population. That did not happen, of course.