So what about that Safety Culture, and Why?
Insurance Premiums - ugh!
Who doesn't want lower premiums? Indeed when business leaders support a safety management system then workers know that their company cares about them. This impacts the psychosocial factors in the workplace and when workers know that their leaders care about them, they are more likely to make safer decisions because humans have an inherent hierarchy of needs associated with their safety [1]. While lower workers' compensation costs are an attractive benefit to a strong safety culture, it's also the right thing to do for the workplace. After all, the best way to manage a workers' compensation claim is to not have one in the first place! And that all rolls up to lower experience modification ratings and getting that next choice contract or bid for work.
Retention and morale
Research shows that safety management systems include much more than just putting on a piece of personal protective equipment. It includes the intrinsic beliefs of how we do things around here. That means that when workers know their company cares about their well-being and that the workplace is conducive to collaboration and speaking up when something doesn't feel right, workers are more likely to stick around. [2] How can we measure or get a benchmark of how we feel about safety in a workplace? Pinnacol Assurance, for example, has some basic safety culture questions that you can use to compare employee's perceptions and management's perceptions. [3] While these tools are simplistic, sometimes working with a third-party consultant is helpful to take a deeper dive into the company’s culture. Using a survey is the first step in evaluating how your workers feel about their safety and how management views their safety program. It is a good idea to get both perspectives for comparison and then to make adjustments based on the survey results. Partnering with a third-party consultant will be valuable as you analyze the psychosocial factors that impact the workplace beyond the traditional OSHA requirements of safety and health.
Job performance
When workers know that their leaders support them in their jobs then they can deeply focus on the work task. Neuroscience has been studied for years and for example, Dr. David Rock describes in his publications what workers actually feel and how our brains respond when in the presence of leadership. When workers know that they are in a psychosocially safe place, then they can focus more effectively on the task at hand. Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described in his research the state of “flow” [4]. This means that workers can concentrate more effectively on their work and when that happens they are safer and happier! Who doesn't want that? When humans are able to deeply focus on their work because they feel psychologically safe and supported then this contributes to a better rationalization when making decisions.
Health and wellness benefits too!
In Colorado, there have been studies done with the local Colorado School of Public Health and we know that workers who are healthier are safer [5]. This means that it behooves business leaders to address the impact of not just their safety management system on the job, but also off the job. How does your organization help workers be safe and healthy when they are at home? Some companies offer gym memberships while others might offer a unique personal time off plan. Still others offer mindfulness training and flexible work schedules to help workers maintain their mental wellness too. Either way, safety and health programs have evolved beyond the traditional hard hat and safety glasses to include a comprehensive safety management system that holistically cares for all workers.
References
[1] Julija Melnikova. (2016). The Challenges of Safety Culture: No more risk! Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development, 2(2), 64–67. https://doi.org/10.21622/resd.2016.02.2.064
[3] https://www.pinnacol.com/knowledge-center/creating-a-safety-culture
[4] https://positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/
[5] https://www.pinnacol.com/knowledge-center/health-and-wellness-research
