‘Human first’: Union, govt joint push for people-centred workplaces gains momentum

A renewed push towards people-centred workplaces appeared to gain traction with both labour and government leaders on Thursday, as they urged stronger protections for workers’ mental and physical wellbeing as job pressures and technological changes rise.

Their call for a more balanced, human-centred approach to work took centre stage at the Barbados Workers’ Union’s (BWU) two-day Occupational Safety and Health 360 Conference, which opened at Solidarity House.

Minister of Labour Colin Jordan pointed to the International Labour Organisation’s focus this year on a “people centred, prevention focused approach to occupational safety and health”.

Based on the ILO’s standards and conventions, human beings must be prioritised over machinery and other workplace inputs, he said.

“Human-centred approach to development, to work, to business, to productive endeavour, means that we have to recognise that fundamentally human beings are at the centre, and they have to be treated in a different way from how you will treat other components of the workplace, machines.”

Jordan stressed that this philosophy must underpin workplace policy and practice, noting that workers bring more than just physical output to their roles.

“When a person goes to a workplace or engages in any kind of work, that person is not a microphone, a recorder. That person is a human being, so that the matter of mind and body together goes to work, and the balance has to be found between productive work, effective work, efficient work by a human being, mind and body and the work, the actual output of the person who is engaged, whose labour is being applied to a particular task.”

The labour minister also highlighted the growing impact of modern stressors, particularly technology, on workers’ mental wellbeing:

“Technology causes us to sometimes feel mentally drained outside of our work place, and so in the world of work, the matter of mental wellness and trying to achieve the balance that we speak to in the theme for this year, mind body and work in balance becomes very important.”

Achieving this balance was critical, though not always straightforward, he suggested.

“Finding the balance is not an easy exercise. I speak often about protection and production, that balance is also not easy to identify, but we can achieve it. The safety 360 conferences are opportunities for us to talk through and work through where we can find balance. We continue to promote social dialogue, social dialogue meaning that workers and employers, workers and their supervisors and managers talk meaningfully out of an understanding that we want to do what is good for everybody.”

Jordan encouraged greater knowledge-sharing and meaningful dialogue around best practices, as the BWU also reinforced the importance of holistic worker wellbeing.

BWU general secretary Toni Moore said the focus on balance reflects the union’s long-standing mission as it approaches a major milestone.

“When we speak today about mind, body and work in balance, we are not adopting a new direction from the union as we contemplate 85 more years. We are simply fulfilling the core of who we are, strengthening the systems that protect workers, physically, mentally and socially. It’s about ensuring that the next generation of workers inherits workplaces that are safer, healthier and more humane than the ones that we have right now.”

Moore noted that evolving work processes have placed increasing pressure on employees over time:

“I believe that you may have seen how working processes have changed, not so and where every year, employers are coming to you, expecting faster output. And what that does is it raises higher emotional demands on you, because you might be physically able, academically able, skilled to meet the demands of the task, but it puts you on the pressure as you are asked to deliver more. And of course, there’s cost of living stress that our workers comment on. There’s the issue of new technologies that are redefining what to do.”

She added that workplaces are still adjusting to post-COVID realities, particularly with the rapid adoption of technology:

“For a long time, we had been talking about the use of technology and so on, but COVID meant that if we were to stay connected with our workers, we had to learn very, very, very, very fast how to make use of the technologies, and that has been a plus. So I’m not saying that new technologies are all bad in workspaces, but just trying to keep things in balance so these pressures show up in our minds through burnout, anxiety and emotional fatigue.”

“It shows up in the body through chronic illness, not only the emotional stuff, through chronic illness and preventable injuries, because you become distracted, you go into your workspaces, you trip on something, you cut your hand on a machine. So stress is real.”

Moore also called on employers and supervisors to be better equipped to identify early warning signs of mental health challenges among workers:

“Our responsibility as leaders and partners is really to build environments where people feel that their mind is supported, their body is protected, and the work does not push people past their limits. Mental wellness must be treated as a core occupational safety and health priority. Supervisors must be trained to identify the early warning signs.”

She further urged a recommitment to safe and supportive workplaces, with adequate systems and a stronger focus on worker dignity.

Moore called for workplaces that prioritise, “respect, rest, family life and human dignity”.

(LG)