Job design principles and organizational implementation

Health issues at the workplace have become one of the most common issues under discussion when dealing with the productivity of the workforce, especially in the manufacturing sectors of the industries throughout the world. The working conditions in general are a subject of more and more attention largely because the effects of disregarding this issue have been seen in the industries. Naidu Munirathinam T. And G. Ramesh discuss the issue of health programs at the working place as one of the means through which employee productivity can increase. In their article, "Achieving Organizational Effectiveness through Health Management and Ergonomics" (2011), the two authors provide a rather comprehensive view on the way in which initiatives oriented towards improving working conditions through better health programs and a more ergonomic oriented approach can make a difference in the well being of the employee and, at the same time, can contribute to the overall productivity of the workforce.

The importance of heath management is nowadays self-obvious; yet some decades ago it was not seen as a necessity but rather as a benefit. More precisely, the advancement of the industrialization has determined an increase in the problems facing employees and thus the need to address these health problems. In this sense, "Rapid industrialization has created features in the society which created growing health problems for all. While this problem is common for every body, working employees have been exposed to poor health mainly due to environmental factors. Hence the occupational diseases have drawn more attention in recent times and aspect of quality of, work life started getting additional attention from employees and employees." (Munirathinam and Ramesh, 2011, p 28). In the view of the authors, heath management is important particularly to address these issues and to improve the working and health conditions of the workers. Therefore, they define heath management as being "the systematic process of making adequate provisions for the health of employees at work place and enables them to work more and to stay healthy in the organizations." (Munirathinam and Ramesh, 2011, p 28-9).

There are numerous sources of poor health in the working environment, ranging from improper physical working conditions, to exposure to chemical agents, toxic environments to psychological factors that include stress, anxiety, and exhaustion. Health maintenance programs that are more and more common are crucial to address such issues and are the more relevant in industries where these factors are visible on the performance of the employees. In this sense, health maintenance programs must ensure that they have a multi-dimensional approach. Thus, "Preventive health measures include periodical medical examinations, removal of health hazards to the extent possible, surveillance over employees exposed to special risks and education on health and hygiene. Curative measures are adopted when employees suffer from ill health" (Munirathinam and Ramesh, 2011, p 29). However, in order to prevent ill health, in countries such as India, action has been taken to ensure that working conditions are not negatively influencing the employees, whether they are in factories or offices.

Another important aspect presented by the authors is that or ergonomics, or "discipline involving arrangement of work environment to fit the people in it." (Munirathinam and Ramesh, 2011, p 30) which is divided into three main areas: physical, cognitive and organizational ergonomics. The Ergonomic programs that have been designed in numerous companies and in particular for office related work functions take into account the proper and healthy behavior of the employee and its relation with the environment and the working tools, whether they are a physical work related instrument or an intellectual work related -- computer.

The implications of the article are rather significant for the area of study. The article provides a comprehensive view on the issue of health at work and the need to address this matter in a constant manner. At the same time, the discussion on the role of ergonomics in the working place and how this relates a preventive attitude towards ill health is yet another relevant point of the article. However, the approach provided by the article is relatively limited to the perspective of the employee, and fails to provide any feedback from the employers and their views on the relation between the health of the employees and the increase in the productivity. This would be an important point to make in particular because the employers are the ones that are providing the implementation platforms for the heath programs and the ergonomics programs and therefore a view from the employers' side would have ensured a broader perspective on the topic.