Occupational Health and Safety and Employee Engagement: A Case of Solid Waste Employees in Urban Council in Ampara

Abstract

This paper aimed to examine the relationship between occupational health and safety (OHS) and employee engagement (EE), identify the level of occupational health and safety, identify the level of employee engagement of SW employees, and determine whether the OHS impacts on employee engagement of SW employees. In this study, the authors gathered primary data from the Urban Council in Ampara, and the questionnaire method has been used as a data collection method. To carry out this research, a sample size of 85 employees was selected. The findings revealed a strong positive relationship between the OHS and EE (r = 0.736) which was significant at a 0.01 level. Organisations need to formulate strategies to promote occupational health and safety through continuous education and training for solid waste employees, which will increase their occupational health and safety competencies and ultimately help them improve their efficiency. A periodic medical examination should be performed on all solid waste employees continuously. The management of the Urban Council in Ampara should cooperate with their employees for better performance and place safety above work. Recently, most of the studies on occupational health and safety are focused on employees who work on construction sites, but a little attempt to study the health and safety of local government employees in Sri Lanka, especially those in urban councils or municipal councils. This paper examined the relationship between occupational health and safety and employee engagement in a different setting. To better understand the OHS, the study recognised OHS dimensions such as management commitment, OHS training, safety committees and representatives, and safety learning and compliance to identify the relationship between OHS and EE.

Keywords: Employee Engagement, Occupational Health and Safety, OHS Programmes, Urban Council