TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES – MANILA

College of Engineering and Architecture

ASSIGNMENT NO. 2
MODULE 2

CEM 304

SUBMITTED BY:
Platoon N. Bejer
1810587
BSCE/CE32S2

SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. MAUREEN PAULA SIGUIN

MAY 17, 2021

The workplace is a worker’s secondary home. It is a place where some workers spend most of
their time. Other than being a place in which workers have to play their part in the company, the
workplace must act as a place that they can consider their home. It must be somewhere workers will be
motivated to go to, safe and comfortable to stay in, driven to accomplish their tasks in, accepted and
understood for who they are, free from external problems, and heard for their ideas. The inability to
fulfill any of the foregoing may result in a series of complications for a worker. It may start with a simple
discomfort leading to stress, worsen to obliviousness and anxiety that may cause workplace accidents
and injuries. To mitigate, if not prevent, the effects of physical, emotional, and psychological stresses in
the workplace, a field of knowledge focused on fitting the workplace to the workers is developed -
Ergonomics. The latter is the science of the interaction between the worker and his/her workplace. It
studies how workers perform their duties in the workplace. It includes what factors affect their
performance, the development of their work-related stresses, and the generation of knowledge,
procedures, and equipment to reduce the effects of their workplace stresses. Ergonomics also reduces
work-related musculoskeletal disorders or also known as WMSDs. These are health issues concerning
the muscles and bones of workers involved in performing their duties in the workplace. Through the
application of Ergonomics, WMSDs and workplace-related risk factors such as awkward postures, high
hand force, repetitive motion, repeated impacts, improper lifting, and vibration exposure can be
reduced. Workplace-related risk factors may occur individually, consecutively, or simultaneously. In the
construction industry, which relies heavily on human resources, the well-being of workers must be
protected. Although the construction site is naturally a high-risk environment due to the intensive labor
demand, as the Construction Manager, I should still ensure that the hazards that they may encounter is
minimized when possible. Moreover, I must prevent further hazards to develop.

The first risk factor, awkward postures, is the positioning of the body in its unnatural form.
Working under this condition increases the difficulty of the job and the stresses acquired from doing it.
However, depending on its intensity, frequency, and duration, awkward postures may stretch and
exercise the muscle of the worker. On the other hand, good posture is the positioning of the body in its
natural state. That is, it creates minimum stresses for the body to maintain its posture, such as standing
still as compared to standing with the arms raised. In the construction site, movements involving
awkward postures is common. To reach a certain height or position the body to perform the job,
unnatural postures are inevitable. However, when possible, these should be avoided to reduce or
prevent the development of stresses to the worker. It may cause soreness or tightening of the muscles
that will prevent workers from effectively completing their tasks. Consequently, the quality of their
output will be reduced. As the Construction Manager, I must limit the risk factors in the site to ensure
the health of my team as well as the quality of the project. One of the ways I can do is to ensure that
workers receive short rest every once in a while without compromising their productivity.

Other risk factors such as the high hand force, repetitive motions, lifting, and vibration may be
combined as the risk due to the high demand for raw strength in construction. These risks are innate in
the construction industry, especially to construction workers. They risk their lives to perform their job.
As their Construction Manager, I do not think they have to do that. I disagree with the notion that they
have to risk their lives. I want them to work under safe working conditions, with minimal or no hazards.
To do so, the first move I will make is to ensure that all workers are fit for the job. Regardless of the job
description, a worker who is not fit for the job he applied for will be at high risk for accidents and
injuries. Second, I will assure that all equipment and materials are of the required specifications and are
properly maintained. Old and malfunctioning tools will induce more stress on the workers to do their
job, only resulting in an output less desirable than it should be. Third, I will commit myself to complete
guidance and supervision of my team. If workers see that their leader is committed to his job and is
concerned with their performance, they may be encouraged to perform better. Fourth, I will comply
with all the safety protocols and procedures imposed on the workplace. The responsibility of abiding by
workplace rules starts with those who implement them. As the Construction Manager, I will set a role
model for my team. I should abide by the rules that I implement. Fifth, I will regularly check the reports
from all personnel. To encourage other officers such as the safety engineer to their jobs effectively, I
must show commitment in reading and understanding their reports. It will make them feel appreciated
and valued as well as improving the quality of their performances. Because of this, other workers under
them will also be influenced by their improved performance producing a better output. Lastly, I will
listen to all my team members. I may be the manager, I may have the theoretical knowledge and basic
application, but they are experienced in construction works. They may be more knowledgeable on how
to properly implement the plan. However, it does not mean that they will always be correct which is
why I have to continuously improve my knowledge and skills to know whether their works aligned with
the specifications in the plan. The reciprocity of knowledge and experience between us will work
together towards the effective and efficient completion of the project.

A good leader must always consider the welfare of his team, not just that of the project. The
quality of workers’ output is vital in the construction industry, but so are the workers. To maintain, if
not improve, their quality of work, I must empathize with them. I will be handling different people with
different mindsets, skills, knowledge, and backgrounds; there will be no universal method of managing
them. I must know them first, including what they can and cannot do, what difficulties are they having
inside and outside the workplace, and what are their expectations of me. Knowing who I will be
managing will help me strategize my approaches and communication strategy with them. Also, when
problems arise, I will have a better perspective of dealing with them. The importance of knowing my
team extends to gaining their trusts, making them feel valued, building a stronger connection with
them, and making them more obedient. When workers are stressed, it will be a major setback for the
project because their productivity or work quality will suffer. However, because of the nature of their
job, workers will definitely experience stresses up to some extent. In proper handling a stressed worker,
I must first understand his/her stressors. Then, I must determine how these stressors affect the worker.
With these, I will be able to mitigate the effects of those stressors or eliminate them. I must periodically
ask how my workers are and what difficulties they are having, to determine the early signs of stress and
work on it immediately. To be an effective leader, I must know how to be a member of my team.

In conclusion, stress management is vital in the workplace. Some of the ways of dealing with
workplace stresses are Ergonomics and effective leadership. The former prevents stresses from arising
in the workplace by developing equipment and procedures that minimizes the stresses that will be
experienced by the worker. The latter is focused on dealing with arising stresses in the workplace. It
constitutes proper management of stressed worker and mitigating or eliminating the stressors in the
future.
I affirm that I have not given or received any unauthorized help in this assignment and that this work is
my own

PLATOON N. BEJER