A workplace health and safety plan is intended to promote the safety, health and well-being of employees. Employers should ensure that the plan is available at all workplaces, regardless of size. The Administration of Occupational Safety and Health in Iceland calls for it in field inspections and digital inspections. The plan includes a written risk assessment and a written health protection and prevention plan.
When carrying out a risk assessment it is necessary to identify risks in the work environment that could potentially threaten the safety, health and well-being of employees, and all aspects of the activity and the work environment must be looked at holistically. In that context it is a good idea to build on the five main elements of occupational safety and health, and specific elements if applicable. However it depends on the nature of the activity how complex each risk factor is in the risk assessment.
Once a risk assessment has been made a health protection and prevention plan is drawn up, which deals with the measures that need to be taken so that the risk can be prevented or reduced as much as possible.
Here we discuss psychosocial factors, which is one of the five main elements of occupational safety and health.
Management and organisation
It is always important to try to prevent and reduce misunderstandings, conflicts, and negative communications at work. One way to achieve this is by having clear organisational charts and job descriptions so everyone knows what's expected of them.
This section covers factors like working hours, training, organisation of tasks, task variety, autonomy, flexibility, and time for solitude.
More on management and organisation
Communication
Everyone in the workplace is responsible for healthy communication. Managers set a good example, are available for employees when needed, and provide support. Employees are responsible for their own behaviour and for treating others with respect.
This section covers workplace culture, trust, support, change, communication, channels of communication, team composition, and conflicts.
EKKO – bullying, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment and violence
Managers and employees are responsible for promoting a healthy workplace culture where bullying, harassment, and violence are not tolerated.
Actions against bullying, harassment, and violence in the workplace must be part of each workplace's written health and safety plan. Workplaces need to establish a clear policy that states such behavior will not be tolerated and have a plan in place for what actions to take if bullying, harassment, or violence occurs.
Service provider
Administration of Occupational Safety and Health