Any big hotel, such as a Hilton hotel, employs dozens of people who ensure that hotel guests enjoy their stay. Workplace injuries can significantly decrease the quality of rendered services, and thus the management of any hotel should aspire to reduce the rates of work-related trauma among its employees. Using the Hilton hotel in Barcelona as an example, this essay will discuss potential threats to employees’ safety, strategies for preventing physical injuries at work, and ways of dealing with an occurred trauma.
In a hotel, the majority of physical injuries are likely to result from incorrect usage of special equipment and poorly designed safety regulations. To ensure the safe use of work equipment, the Hilton hotel management provides new employees with induction training, familiarizing them with safety measures. Moreover, the hotel makes sure that all the equipment is in working condition and the work materials, such as chemicals, are hazard-free. With respect to safety regulations, the Hilton hotel arranges regular fire drills and has emergency procedures for such events as bomb threats, chemical spillage, or food contamination (Safe and security features n.d.). Such practices ensure that employees know how to behave at times of emergencies. In addition, periodic inspections are carried out at the hotel to check compliance with its health and safety regulations (Safe and security features n.d.). Taken together, the policies used by the Hilton hotel are likely to considerably improve staff safety in the workplace.
Often, work injuries result from psychological factors, such as recklessness or exhaustion. One way to address these issues is to hire only those people who have an intrinsic value for workplace safety (Wachter & Yorio 2014). Furthermore, hotel management should create a healthy psychological environment, stressing the importance of health protection over productivity (Zadow et al. 2017). The Hilton Hotel recognizes the importance of personnel safety by encouraging its employees to provide suggestions for policy improvements or raise concerns about safety procedures (Safe and security features n.d.). With their attitude, the hotel management should be able to eliminate some of the psychological factors contributing to work-related injuries.
While total injury prevention is rarely possible, the choice of the right strategies for dealing with occurred traumas is essential in maintaining a safe workplace. Once an employee suffers an injury, an accident investigation should be conducted (Wachter & Yorio 2014). Such practice helps to establish the reasons for the accident and prevent similar injuries in the future. The Hilton hotel employs an accident reporting procedure and carries out accident investigations both in case of injuries and property damage (Safe and security features n.d.). Hotel management also needs to consider the possibility of paying for the medical treatment of employees, as not all workers might have proper insurance coverage (Hsieh, Apostolopoulos & Sönmez 2016). To this end, the Hilton hotel employs a team of qualified first aiders who can provide initial medical treatment after an accident (Safe and security features n.d.). Finally, in case of serious injuries, the company should offer its employees a comfortable way of returning to their workplace. Some workers, for instance, prefer a gradual increase in their workload as a way of regaining their duties, while others might require modifications in their work tasks (Stergiou-Kita, Mansfield & Colantonio 2014). Since the Hilton Hotel does not have regulations addressing grave injuries, the company must consider them in the future.
It is a hotel’s duty to care for the well-being of both its guests and workers. Being a well-known brand, the Hilton hotel in Barcelona invested its time and money in building a safe work environment for its employees. Still, additional policies are needed for addressing several gaps in the current safety regulations of the hotel.
Reference List
Hsieh, YC, Apostolopoulos, Y & Sönmez, S 2016, ‘Work conditions and health and well-being of Latina hotel housekeepers’, Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 568-581.
Safe and security features n.d., 2018, Web.
Stergiou-Kita, M, Mansfield, E & Colantonio, 2014, ‘Injured workers’ perspectives on how workplace accommodations are conceptualized and delivered following electrical injuries’, Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 173-188.
Wachter, JK & Yorio, PL 2014, ‘A system of safety management practices and worker engagement for reducing and preventing accidents: an empirical and theoretical investigation’, Accident Analysis & Prevention, vol. 68, pp. 117-130.
Zadow, AJ, Dollard, MF, McLinton, SS, Lawrence, P & Tuckey, MR 2017, ‘Psychosocial safety climate, emotional exhaustion, and work injuries in healthcare workplaces’, Stress and Health, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 558-569.