The Impact of Workplace Hazards, Employees Health and Safety Status on Productivity in a Subsidiary Company of the Oil and Gas Sector

Abstract

The study focuses on the impact of workplace hazards, employees’ health and safety status on productivity. The study made use of the survey method of data gathering in which three hundred copies of questionnaires were randomly distributed and two hundred and forty- five were retrieved. Percentages and table were used to present the outcome of the results. The study shows that the years of experience of the workers as exemplified in the study shows a remarkable long period of service for the respondents to be able to understand the impact and effects of hazards on workers and their implications on productivity with 31.0 percent of respondents having 21 to 25 years of active service, 24.9 percent had 16 to 20 years, 22.9 percent had 26 to 30 years of working experience, and 21.2 percent had 31 to 35 years of active service. With reference to work hazards, Explosion and fire accounted for 13% of all workplace hazards, closely followed by work stress with 11.8 percent and trips and falls with 11.5 percent. Ergonomic risks were 11.0%, electrical risks were 11.2%, and vehicle collisions were 11.3%. Machine hazards accounted for 9.3%, confined space hazards for 7.6%, and vibration hazards for 5.7%. The outcome of hazards on workers’ health shows that 18.8% of the respondents were of the view that workplace hazards has caused them injuries, 14.7% responded to chronic illnesses such as cancers, respiratory diseases, and damage to organs like the liver and kidneys. 31.0% complained of stress and anxiety due to work hazards, decline in mental health accounted for 21.2% while reduced job satisfaction had 14.3%. While the impact of workers’ health on productivity shows that Working over- time all the time leading to breakdown of workers was considered the most critical issues of the impact of employee’s health on productivity and it accounted for 19.2%, this is followed by the absence of adequate and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 16.4%. For productivity in the subsidiary companies of the Oil and Gas companies to be at their optimum, the safety and health of employees should be taken as priority by the management as productivity depend on the performances of employees.