Every day in the United States on the
average, 15 workers lose their lives as a result of injuries or illnesses related to their
work – that’s over 5700 people. These people leave behind families, friends, and
co-workers. The single most common cause is complacency – an attitude that “it
won’t happen to me.”
Complacency Kills The Entire Organization
Too often individuals and companies become complacent when
it comes to safety. Managers are satisfied with mediocre safety performance and do not
work to improve the environment by raising safety awareness and eliminating the potential
for injury. Employees are content and are not attentive to their work environments. They
become convinced that management is not concerned about safety. They begin to think they
are not responsible for their own safety. Over time, the entire organization gives little
meaningful attention to safety.
The result is that employees begin to get in a hurry and
take shortcuts on the job. They are more focused on production and getting the job done
than getting it done safely. That attitude becomes an organizational norm. Near misses go
unreported. No one wants to take the time to fill our forms and employees don’t
understand the connection between sharing information and eliminating injuries. Managers
do not pay attention to reports, so they become unimportant. The number of injuries
increases and they become more severe. Everyone becomes frustrated. Employees blame
management and management blames employees, yet no one is willing to take action to
improve the situation. Unfortunately, it often takes a fatal injury to cause everyone to
focus on safety. Don’t let this happen to your organization.
The Complacency Trap – Don’t Become Distracted
By Pressing Issues
Research shows that many incidents occur because people are
distracted and do not pay attention to their environment and what is going on around them.
Managers often fall into the same trap – they become distracted by pressing issues
such as the organization’s need to increase productivity, improve quality, and raise
profits. They stop paying attention to the importance of safety in the organization and
become blinded to the fact that the lack of attention to safety performance is injuring
the organization in the long run. In other words, they become complacent.
When managers and supervisors do not make safety a top
priority in the organization, it is easy for employees to make personal safety a low
priority. Then incidents and injuries occur with increasing frequency. There are two
things that must happen to avoid this potentially deadly situation.
1. Managers must renew their commitment to the safety
process
2. Employees must get involved in meaningful safety activities.
Managers – Get Committed!
It takes more than just saying you are committed to safety
– you have to put actions behind your words. Managers can demonstrate their
commitment to safety in a number of ways. First and foremost, managers must follow the
company’s safety rules. Then, regularly attend safety meetings. Also consider the
following ideas.
- Take time to walk around and talk to employees.
Visit employees in their workplaces whether on the shop
floor, in the field, or in the office. Talk about your personal concern for safety, and
then listen to their concerns. Take personal action to correct unsafe situations and
follow up to let employees know the outcomes.
- Make it a point to personally review all reports of near
misses and injuries.
When managers review reports of injuries and near misses,
it demonstrates the information’s importance. Follow up on the reports to ensure that
appropriate actions are taken to eliminate the causes of incidents in your organization
that could result in larger, bigger direct hits. Take care to ensure that your follow up
is a positive action rather than a punitive one.
- Integrate safety into all aspects of management planning.
During the organizational planning process include safety
goals and objectives then ensure that the budget includes appropriate items for safety
improvement. Communicate your organization’s safety performance expectations goals,
objectives to the management level and to your employees. To encourage a sustainable
change in the safety culture of your organization, make it a point to review your
organization’s progress.
- Enable employees to get involved in the safety process.
Identify areas where employees can become actively involved
in the safety process and encourage their participation by allowing work time for
appropriate activities. Ask employees with specific skills or interests to participate in
safety improvement projects. Then recognize their involvement and efforts.
Managers at all levels of the organization can have a
profound effect on the safety culture of an organization by following these suggestions.
Once they see their supervisors and managers taking safety seriously, employees in turn
will be more committed than ever. And, nothing energizes an organization’s safety
improvement efforts more than employee involvement.
Other Ways To Get Employees Involved In Your
Organization’s Safety Planning and Process:
First, make employees aware of how they can get involved in
the safety process. Involvement can come in many different forms. Encourage employees to
get involved in the following activities and others:
- Reporting all unsafe conditions
- Attending safety meetings
- Serving on employee safety committees
- Planning and leading a safety meeting
- Participating in incident investigations and facility walk-throughs
- Engaging in conversations with supervisors and managers to share improvement ideas
Employees whose ideas and involvement are valued will
increase safety performance faster than employees who are just simply following the rules.
Create opportunities for employees to contribute ideas and information that will lead to
safety improvement.
Stamp out Complacency to Create a Safety-Focused
Organization
To create a culture in your organization where injuries are
a thing of the past, remind everyone that complacency is a dangerous thing –
it’s a killer. Find ways to pique employees’ interest in finding ways to make
safety improvements. Create motivation for positive change in the organization by
believing that it’s possible to have zero injuries in your organization and
communicating that belief to employees. Show employees the relevance of working safe to
their jobs, careers, paychecks, and, most importantly, their families. This will create an
environment where everyone at every level in the organization will increase their
commitment and their involvement in making the workplace injury-free. The result is that
everyone can go home every day to their families without injury. |
