Effects of Occupational Safety and Health on Labour Productivity: A Case Study of Some Selected Firms in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana
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Date
2013-07
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University of Ghana
Abstract
The countless incidences of injury, death, frequent absenteeism and huge compensation costs
that characterized most Ghanaian industry are worries to the country’s economic development.
This draws from the fact that these negative implications of unhealthy and unsafe working
environment continue to plague labour productivity in the country and have the tendency of
retarding economic growth. At least 7 per cent of Ghana’s GDP is spent on solving problems
related to the improper management of health and safety. To effectively address this menace, the
effects of the health and safety of an organisation on one’s productivity need to be well known
and understood.
Using primary data from firm survey in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, the univariate
estimation technique was employed to access the impact of employees’ health and the safety of
an organisation on employees’ productivity. The study further accessed the impact of health and
safety on performance indicators like attendance, quality, quantity, concentration and efforts of
employees. In order to avoid the use of several univariate estimations the multivariate estimation
techniques was employed under this case.
Findings from the study indicate that health and safety are vital to one’s productivity. The
marginal impacts of health and safety on employees’ productivity were 21 and 27 percent
respectively. It was also evident that health and safety positively affect one’s attendance, quality,
quantity, effort and concentration levels at work. However, the health of the individual and
safety of the organisation greatly affect one’s quality of work and attendance respectively among
the performance indicators. The results further indicated that the impacts of health and safety on
labour productivity were not organisation specific. The study recommends that firms should
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establish occupational safety and health offices that will ensure the wellbeing of their employees.
Secondly health care incentives should cover all categories of workers; this is to offset
constraints to health care demand. Finally there should be a system that evaluates, monitors and
controls risk at work places in order to reduce the decline in productivity associated with any
kind of risk.
Description
Thesis (MPHIL)-University of Ghana, 2013