News & Events

April 28, 2020ZAHID Ali SHAHBlogNews & Events

28^th of April is globally celebrated as the International Day for Health and Safety at work. Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, its worldwide spread and a number of experiences shared by the entire global community regarding the occupational hazards of their jobs; it is essential for organizations to uphold the health and safety values propagated on this day. It also falls upon us, average men and women to observe these values as an integral part of our personal code of conduct. So no matter whether we are employers or employees, it becomes a matter of conscience for us to carry out our respective work keeping in view our own safety and the safety of those we work with.

For every profession has its own risks and health and safety requirements. Notwithstanding the policies made by our respective governments, and organisations, or implemented by the general principles of our chosen professions, most of the accidents caused by occupational hazards happen primarily due to a lapse in our own personal diligence in carrying out our professional duties. For instance, it has been repeatedly seen that the newly hired youth often disregards the prescribed safety precautions of their professions and eventually, suffer the consequences by sustaining an irrevocable damage to their physical or psychological well-being, sometimes even by losing their very lives. Reportedly, not so long ago, a young officer lost his life simply because he was too casual to adhere to the standard operating procedures issued by his organisation. Consequently, when a sentry halted him at night in a war zone for identification, he could not comply owing to his listening to music with sound cancelling ear plugs. And after a thrice repeated caution he was shot dead. Similarly, a journalist was diagnosed with an extreme case of insomnia because while working in Iraq she could not refrain herself as per the safety policy of journalism, and followed a terrorist into the woods who was facing a 6 or 7 years old girl. Though she captured a picture which earned her the annual reward, afterwards she could never come to terms sanely with idly standing by and watching the helpless child being murdered in cold blood.

There are countless other examples of people being forgetful of their organization’s safety precautions which ultimately causes disasters in their personal as well as professional lives. It should also be acknowledged that safety measures are not only to be taken with respect to tangible, visible threats. In fact high levels of stress caused by overwork has also been observed to have damaged an individual’s mental health to the point where in some cases it has proved to be fatally injurious.

So let us invest in our own works by abiding by the safety precautions of our respective professions. Let us not play around with our own lives and subsequently the lives of those who depend upon our earning.

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