Improved working conditions are very important not only for better performance and improved quality but also for good health, safety and wellbeing. It increases the performance of organizations and improves the quality of products and services through a variety of means including increasing collaboration, boosting organizational culture and increasing morale. But working conditions, or conditions that cover a broad range of aspects in and under which work is performed including working time (hours of work, rest periods and work schedules), physical conditions (space, temperature, lighting and ventilation), legal rights and responsibilities and mental demands (including the scope of work-life balance), are not good enough in many large, medium and small-scale organizations of different sectors in many countries.
Working conditions are not good enough in many aspects. Extreme long working hours and unhealthy physical conditions are major problems in workplaces in many countries. Working hours are mostly less in European countries, but these are high in many other countries. According to available sources, European countries have the lowest share (15 percent) of working more than 48 hours per week, while it is 57 percent in Turkey that tops the list. Besides, there are other problems including poor-lit spaces, mandatory overtime, work overload and long hours without breaks in many countries. Sexual harassment is an important problem in the workplace in many countries. Unsafe working conditions (including cramped and dangerous conditions) are high in many countries in Asia, Africa and other regions.
No doubt, there are inadequate policy-based, limited resource-driven, inadequate regulation- based and other causes of unimproved working conditions in many countries. An inadequate emphasis on improved working conditions, a lack of concern especially for workplace health and safety, a lack of organizational vision, limited financial resources, a tendency of profit maximization or excessive focus on outputs, inadequate and ineffective regulatory efforts, a lack of transparency and ineffective organizational management are some of the main causes of poor working conditions. Many organizations including many medium and large-scale organizations do not feel the importance of improved working conditions in many countries. Moreover, undefined core values of organizations, unclear roles of organizations and a lack of feedback mechanisms significantly contribute to poor working conditions.
There are definitely international convention-based, national policy-oriented, organizational and other steps to improve working conditions. There are several ILO conventions including Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 and Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 but they are not ratified by many countries and their implementation is low. Among countries, European countries have a strong commitment and put significant emphasis on improved working conditions by focusing on many aspects including health safety and wellbeing. But less developed and many developing countries neither have any strong commitment nor put the deserving emphasis on working conditions. Consequently, there is a lack of strong monitoring and implementation of decent work conditions by the government authorities, along with inadequate policy support.
It is notable that there are many organizational, psychological and other negative effects of poor working conditions. Unhealthy working conditions lead to a lack of motivation, less satisfaction, poor productivity, low quality and an increased risk of workplace incidents. Also, burnout, depression and less self-confidence result from unhealthy working conditions and many leave their workplace because of poor working conditions. As a further consequence, the cost of poor working conditions is high. According to available sources, an estimate of the multiple costs incurred by workplace accidents, illnesses and long-term absence in the Netherlands puts the amount at 3 percent of the total Gross National Product. Poor work-life balance is also an important impact of inflexible working conditions.
To reduce negative impacts, increase quality and productivity and improve wellbeing, working conditions need to be desirably improved. In this respect, policy-based and other challenges need to be addressed. Work hours need to be made flexible so that they can lead to wellbeing, mandatory overtime needs to be ended and unreasonable workload needs to be reduced. The right amount of space needs to be allocated and health and safety standards need to be improved with effective measures. The monitoring and implementation of various components of improved working conditions, along with strong policy support, need to be ensured. But more emphasis needs to be given by less developed countries compared to developed countries.
