Editorial

Make the workplace safe and healthy

Many people are of the view that good health implies the absence of diseases and the availability of healthcare facilities that help us treat sicknesses and diseases that we may suffer from time to time.

People may not be sick or suffer from diseases but may still be found to be unhealthy due to the circumstances in which they may find themselves at the workplace. Unfavourable workplace creates implications far beyond the emotional well-being of employees.

A crucial aspect of fair treatment in the workplace involves having a genuine concern for your employees’ mental and physical health. Therefore, we should ensure that every employee has a safe workspace and a healthy work-life balance.

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance or harmony is not only important for health and relationships, but it can also improve employees’ productivity, and ultimately performance.

It is for this reason that management and staff are often advised or encouraged to create a conducive atmosphere for effective work. Inconducive atmosphere may threaten the health of people at their workplaces.

When this happens, the workers may not find themselves in a good mood to increase productivity. Such a situation ought to be avoided to make workers happy and productive.

For example, employees who have disability may likely need certain accommodations offered them in order for them to perform their duties well. Poor workplace conditions can lead to unmotivated employees, poor productivity, and an increased risk of accidents.

Depending on how bad the conditions are, an employer may also be in violation of labour regulations, which could cause substantial legal issues.

The situation where some unfriendly managers and chief executives shout at their subordinates does not augur well for sound workplace ethics. Every worker deserves special respect from management so as to ensure encouragement and recognition.

Even in a situation where workers are wrong, senior management will have to show motherly and fatherly love in taking corrective measures to avoid a recurrence.

No one should constitute himself into a terrible dictator whose only purpose at the workplace is to shout at workers, as well as victimise and punish them unfairly.

The most important resource or asset at the workplace is the group of people who work there. Without such people, not much can be achieved, which explains why the staff in any organisation must be treated with respect.

Victimisation, favouritism, discrimination, and dictatorial tendencies cannot result in good works or productivity. Fair treatment rather can have a greater impact on employee turnover than you may imagine.

In light of all this, let us show respect to one another at the workplace, irrespective of our status or position, so that together we can join forces to increase productivity and thereby move the country forward.

If we all pursue this idea, we will end up making everyone happy at the workplace.

Editorial

Let’s respect the dead

Dear Editor,

Growing up as a young man, I watched how families of deceased persons paid respect to their beloved ones.

Right from the mortuary to the funeral grounds, the mortal remains of the deceased are always handled with respect to honour them.

Most of the time, individuals who visit the mortuary to bring the body of the deceased home were required to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water.

A traditional belief holds that seeing or coming into contact with dead bodies portends a bad omen and may require spiritual cleansing.

However, in recent times, I have seen a number of videos on social media where corpses are handled without care.

In some of these videos, one could see the body of the corpse carried on the shoulders of friends or being made to stand while friends and families touch and take pictures with it.

I find that weird and at the same time disturbing and thinks a lot about the health implications.

According to some health experts, such an act poses a threat to public health as one may not know the cause of the death of the deceased.

Some have predicted that Ghana could face health crisis such as disease transmission as a result of the pathogens present in decomposing bodies, if care was not taken.

As a concerned individual, I share in the view of the health experts.

I believe that if care is not taken, the actions of the youth in handling dead bodies could lead to the spread of diseases.

I, therefore urge the Ghana Health Service to take the issue seriously and address it to avoid any possible future health crisis.

Atom,
Korle-bu

Editorial

Prevent Keta Township from being engulfed by sea

Have you ever dreamed about waking up to discover that everything you own—including your mattress, roof, and all of your memories – has been lost to the sea?

Since the sea has consumed a sizable portion of Keta in the Volta region, the town’s citizens are in a pitiful position. The sooner action is taken to save the town, the better off everyone will be.

The destruction of the Keta by the sea needs to be addressed immediately, or else the township would eventually be submerged under the water.

Our reporter’s visit showed that this once-thriving seaside resort is gradually disappearing. Keta was once a thriving town known for its business, but now some areas are in ruins, with some of the locals looking on in wonder at the destruction caused by the water.

For the residents of Keta, the Atlantic Ocean is no longer a far-off blue horizon. These days, it relentlessly and without invitation circles around their doorsteps, tearing down walls and other structures, erasing memories, and endangering lives.

Many locals have been forced to live with family or friends after the sea destroyed their homes years ago, and other residents find it hard to comprehend that their once-livable habitat is now in ruins.

The problem is that, apart from residences, Keta’s cultural identity being anchored by monuments are gradually disappearing. One remnant of the transatlantic slave trade, the once-imposing Fort Prinzenstein, is now more of a ruin than a monument.

Once more, the ancient cinema where generations of children used to laugh at flickering black-and-white pictures is no longer there, as is the Bremen factory from the colonial era.

Among other things, the original police station has vanished, and Queen Street, which was once the town’s busy backbone, is now a flooded hallway clogged with rubble. There is still more work to be done despite previous attempts to address the issue since the town is fighting while the sea is winning.

Although water is life, in this instance, it is ruining people’s homes. The situation is serious since the water is destroying the town’s past as quickly as it is claiming its future, despite nature taking its course.

But as humans, our Creator has endowed us with the intelligence to solve problems. The historic town of Keta is now shrouded in uncertainty as the remains of a once-inhabited township are submerged and engulfed by the approaching seas along its coast.

Therefore, it is more efficient to have everyone working together to find a long-term solution to this terrible issue