Health and Safety Strategy in Medical Institutions: Employee Participation

Abstract

Strong, lasting, and mature relationships, including active employee participation based on consultation and co-decision in occupational health and safety (OHS), contribute to organizational resilience to changes in the environment, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, accidents, or litigation. Since OHS is a complex and specialized area, it can lag behind core activities. This chapter attempts to bridge the gap between OHS and standard management practice to offer a conceptual and theoretical model of employee participation in OHS. It presents the results of a survey among representatives of 94 Polish medical institutions and 195 representatives of other business sectors. Results show that the level of employee participation in OHS at medical facilities is lower, with detrimental effects on performance, during times of crisis. This suggests that there exist areas for improvement in order to achieve greater resilience. © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Karol Marek Klimczak and Yochanan Shachmurove;individual chapters, the contributors.