The importance of online communication in the information upon safety and security at work

• Author: Chitu I.B.
• Pages: 21-26

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series V: Economic Sciences • Vol. 10 (59) No. 1 - 2017

The importance of online communication in the

information upon safety and security at work

Ioana Bianca CHIȚU 1

Abstract: This study aims at presenting the employees’ opinions on the use of online

environment as a medium for communicating the information related to labour safety and

security. The study is based on a quantitative marketing research achieved by interviewing

95 participants, within a conference on labour safety and security. The idea of conducting

this research was based on the increasing number of internet users in our country, as well as

on the fact that the young generations are ever more dependent on the communication in the

online environment, to the detriment of the communication by classical promotional media.

Key-words: safety and security at work, internet

1. Introduction

The results of the report regarding the European Strategy on Labour Safety and

Health 2007-2012, published in 2013, concluded that it supplied a frame for

coordinating the actions of those involved (DG Employment, Social Affairs and

Inclusion, 2013, p. 12). As a consequence of these efforts, a decrease in the number

of accidents at the workplace during the period 2009-2012 can be noticed, reaching

below 2,5 million at the level of the European Union in 2012 (Eurostat, 2012).

At microeconomic level, in order to be competitive on the market, the

companies must benefit from their employees’ full potential (skills, creativity and

commitment), but, in order to succeed, they must ensure a high level of work safety

(Nowosielski et al., 2012). Ensuring safe working conditions is not only a matter of

compliance with the legislation, but it is a fundamental condition for the sustainable

development of any company (Quelhas and Lima, 2006). At the same time, the

labour safety and security management system must be permanently adapted to the

requirements, as well as permanently updated (Nowosielski et al., 2012; Nasiri et al.,

2016).

In the literature, an emphasis is laid also on the employees’ active

participation in solving the safety and security management-related problems, and

on the cooperation with the company management. The employees are considered

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, ioana.chitu@unitbv.ro