II. National Occupational Health and Safety Student Congress Proceedings

We must not forget that occupational health and safety has a very important place in every area of our lives. The fact that the rate of fatal work accidents in our country is 10 times higher when compared to different countries shows us the reality that such programs must be carried out much more and with quality. I would also like to state that this rate is not fitting for a nation like ours that values human life and has established a civilization of love. Such carelessness is not for us, and this should not be the outcome. Some of our employers need to abandon the approach of seeing investments in work safety as an expense. The creation of a safe working environment through measures within the scope of OHS is not only in the interest of employees, but also the trust that will be generated in that workplace and in the employee due to reduced accidents and illnesses should be considered. It should not be forgotten that the most important capital for a person and a workplace is trust capital. In institutions with weak trust capital, productivity decreases and health expenses increase; if there is no safe working environment, employee turnover will be much higher. People come to work in fear every morning because they do not feel safe, and this leads to more accidents.

As someone interested in human psychology, my observations and conclusions reveal the fact that those who cause the most accidents are people lacking empathy. If an employer thinks, when an employee is working, 'What should I do to prevent an accident from happening to this employee if they were my child, sibling, or relative?', they are showing empathy. If a person can empathize, the probability of an accident decreases further. That is why surgeons are taught in medicine as a safety culture; just as a mother holds her child without hurting them, with compassion but protectively... We must hold and approach a patient like this. We need to approach them protectively and with compassion, but this certainly does not mean saying yes to everything they say. We must also be able to do the right thing and say 'no'... We should adopt this approach in OHS culture as well.

Publication Date: 2021

ISBN: 978-605-9596-45-9

Number of Prints: 1st Print

Language: Turkish

Number of Pages: 182

Publisher: Üsküdar University Publications - 41