Improving the legislative framework also involves making certain changes to working conditions. The classification of working conditions is of great importance for productivity indicators, as well as for the health, life of workers, their attitude to their work and its results. Based on practice, the costs of carrying out developments to improve working conditions are justified and fully pay off after three to five years of work.
Scientific approach
In science, there is a definition of working conditions. As a rule, this term is understood as a complex of production factors that are directly relevant to the physical and psychological state of a person (working capacity, well-being, attitude to duties), and also affect the performance of his activities. This concept is deciphered as a classification of working conditions according to environmental factors.
Scientists identify many factors that determine working conditions. Their classification is determined in two directions: the first includes those that are based on the characteristics of production, and the second - those that do not depend on the nature of production. The latter, as a rule, have a natural, social, economic or other nature.
Legislative consolidation
Standards, namely Guidelines R.2.2.755-99, establish hygienic criteria by which to evaluate working conditions. The classification of working conditions according to indicators of harmfulness and danger of factors of the working environment, severity and intensity of the labor process, developed by the Ministry of Health of Russia in 1999, identifies three degrees of working conditions according to indicators of severity and complexity of work. It:
- Optimal, or, as it is also called, light work.
- Allowable labor with moderate working conditions.
- Harmful, that is, hard work.
The value of environmental conditions
The classification of working conditions by environmental factors is based on the characteristics of production, which, in turn, are divided into directly production and socio-psychological. The most interesting for legislators and scientists are precisely those that depend on the nature of the work. Such factors, in addition to having a great influence on the formation of working conditions, have the property and are constantly changing. This trend only increases interest in them and requires constant study.
It should be considered in more detail such a concept as the classification of working conditions by production factors, and the formation of such factors and the strength of their impact on the person who is involved in production.
Hygienic classification
The legislator explains the concept of hygiene criteria as the correspondence of the data of the working environment and labor processes to the current standards. The provisions on which it is built are as follows. The classification of working conditions by severity of labor is developed on the basis of data on the discrepancy between real indicators and accepted standards. This does not take into account professions with extremely harmful working conditions, such as interacting with carriers of infectious diseases, especially toxic substances and drugs or narcotic drugs.
Thus, on the basis of discrepancies in the consequences of harmful conditions and accepted standards, optimal, permissible, harmful and dangerous working conditions are distinguished.
Hygienic classification of working conditions involves their division into four groups:
- Optimum working conditions are those that are designed to most effectively influence a person’s performance and productivity. With them, tension is practically not felt, which cannot but have a positive effect on the results. Norms of optimal conditions apply to microclimate indicators, as well as to the production process. At the same time, safe conditions are considered to be those that have unsafe factors not higher than the accepted acceptable standards. This approach ensures the protection of the health of workers and the creation of conditions for interest in high labor results. This organization of productivity in the enterprise is considered the best.
- Permissible working conditions are those in which the indicators of harmful effects are not higher than those established for workers. Under such conditions, workers' stamina can be easily restored after rest. The effect on the body under such loads does not exceed the norms established by law and, according to medical indicators, does not cause significant damage to the health of workers. Permissible working conditions should not cause irreparable damage to the physical condition or affect the ability to procreate. Such standards cannot harm future offspring. Employees should be fully operational by the next shift.
These two criteria are considered acceptable and safe working conditions.
- Harmful working conditions mean that unsafe factors are involved in production, which have a direct and strong impact on human health. These indicators exceed permissible hygiene standards and adversely affect the body. The classification of working conditions according to the degree of harmfulness depends on their influence, which is usually of a continuous nature and can lead to serious life problems, and even provoke negative consequences for future offspring. This category of work can no longer be classified as permissible.
- Dangerous working conditions cause increased harm not only to the health, but also to the lives of workers. In addition to causing direct harm to workers during the performance of tasks stipulated by the specifics of their work, they also have a lasting effect on their well-being. Severe forms of such exposure can cause significant damage to the body of workers. Due to the prolonged influence of such factors, workers have various kinds of occupational diseases, many of which lead to infertility or severe deviations in offspring. The classification of working conditions by hazard is a separate system of criteria, which makes it possible to understand how safe it is for life and health to perform a particular job.
The value of energy consumption
In addition to generally accepted standards, there are separate criteria by which this or that activity can be attributed to a certain type of severity. The classification of working conditions by environmental factors takes into account, in addition to the degree of harmfulness of production, the energy costs necessary for an employee to complete a task. The level of energy expended can serve as an indicator of how hard the work performed by workers is and what level of concentration of attention and willpower it requires. This information is directly relevant to further improve environmental performance.
Assessment and classification of working conditions of this kind depends on the requirements of the standards, which determine that energy consumption directly depends on the position in which the employee performs tasks. As a rule, this is a standing or sitting pose. Standards found that when working while sitting, the level of energy consumption increases by about five to ten percent of the main metabolism. When standing, this figure increases to 10-12%. With an unnatural posture, the required amount of energy is increased by half. In addition, active mental activity requires an additional fifteen to twenty percent of daily energy. Separate costs require unnecessarily intense or nervous work, which is associated with increased stress. So, reading aloud requires half as much energy as the same action, but performed to oneself. Speaking to an audience requires twice as much energy, and when concentration is focused on workers whose work is related to computer technology, these indicators can reach up to one hundred percent. Based on these physiological indicators, standards are formed.
Types of physical activity
The classification of working conditions according to the severity of the labor process depends on energy expenditures during the performance of certain tasks and is manifested in the gradual deterioration of the body, a decrease in working capacity, the onset of fatigue and requires timely rest. Physical activity, depending on its effect on the body, can be divided into static and dynamic.
The first is manifested in the need for prolonged retention of objects in the same state, which leads to rapid fatigue of individual muscle groups. Frequent and prolonged work in a stationary state and the same type of tension provokes overstrain, muscle wear, as well as a deterioration in blood supply in their individual areas. This can cause diseases of the bone or motor apparatus and even a nervous breakdown.
Dynamic physical activity is a type of activity in which intensive muscle work occurs. Usually it involves numerous groups, in particular the body and limbs. A striking example of this type of workers is the work of loaders. An incorrectly applied classification of working conditions can be a huge danger to their health.
Partial or regional muscular work is manifested in the predominant movement of the upper body. Limited means that less than a third of all the muscles in the body are involved. As a rule, this is small muscular work like packing goods, etc.
Value of tension
Classification of working conditions by severity and tension requires an analysis of production factors such as the duration and degree of body fatigue over a certain period of time. The stress of the body of the working people (physical or mental) may differ depending on the type of their employment and the specifics of the work performed. With an intense load, fatigue occurs depending on the movement of objects and one's own body in space and has an energetic character. With active mental activity, the body is depleted due to emotional stress.
The classification of working conditions according to the intensity of the labor process can be considered on the example of production, which is based on the use of intellectual work. Obtaining, perceiving, and processing information requires considerable effort, which invariably entails energy costs. However, depending on the nature of the mental activity, they may differ. So, the easiest of the existing types is considered that intellectual work, which does not require independent decision-making. This type is classified as optimal. However, if it is necessary to make decisions according to the existing scheme or algorithm, such work can no longer be attributed to the easiest type of activity, therefore it can only be called an acceptable type of activity of the first degree.
To an even more complex category, they determine the activity in solving problems according to a previously known algorithm or scheme. Creative thinking requires higher energy costs, and therefore refers to an acceptable type of activity of the second degree.
Individual criteria
In addition to the above criteria, science has developed other working conditions. Classification identifies individual criteria for working conditions. Such factors (conditions) can be attributed to them:
- physical;
- household;
- social;
- production.
According to this division, the classification of working conditions by environmental factors distinguishes the following indicators: temperature, pressure, air purity, dryness, lighting quality, the presence of noise or vibration, vibration and air movement. Such conditions can affect fatigue and overall performance.
To improve the working environment, it is necessary to create amenities, primarily household ones. These include indicators such as temperature in the range of 18-20 ° C, mercury column pressure of about 760 mm, and humidity in the room about 50%.
The needs of special groups
The classification of working conditions according to hygienic criteria is also important for certain categories of the population who need to create even more sparing conditions at the workplace. When organizing work in an enterprise where women or minors work, it is necessary to take into account the abilities of their body. Due to the characteristics of the body, women are much less than men, adapted to perform grueling work, for example, weight lifting. Therefore, the involvement of women in such tasks is prohibited by law. The same goes for teenagers. The body of minors has not yet fully formed, therefore, when hiring them, the criteria and classification of working conditions, which are described in detail in the standards, should be taken into account.
The meaning of splits
Such a system is of great importance for creating optimal conditions for all population groups. The classification of working conditions by factors of the working environment in the case of minors forces the employer to create amenities that would not impede the full development and growth of children. First of all, this concerns physically difficult tasks, which exerts an exorbitant load on the child's body and its further development. Muscles and bones at this age have not yet fully formed, which threatens with sprains, bruises and disproportionate development of the body. A shortened working day is provided for children, and the severity of the loads that they can lift during work is also clearly limited. Similar provisions for carrying capacity are set for women. Such populations can start working at night only in exceptional conditions. Moreover, maternity leave and a change of job during pregnancy to a lighter one are provided for women.
The hygienic classification of working conditions is of particular importance for protecting the health of the population, and especially the most unprotected layers. Thus, the manual on hygiene criteria says that their existence greatly simplifies the monitoring of the working capacity of workers and the compliance of conditions with existing requirements. Moreover, the priority of preserving the health of the population helps to improve the quality of life, regularly conduct inspections aimed at identifying discrepancies in positions and health problems. In addition, the existence of a single assessment system enables each enterprise to keep records and take timely measures to improve them. The classification of working conditions by factors of the working environment makes it easier for the state to carry out checks on jobs, make decisions on their compliance with generally accepted standards, and hold accountable those who oversee compliance with these standards. In criminal proceedings, such provisions help investigate cases of gross violations of the law and choose a preventive measure for persons guilty of such violations.