Safety is a life value, not just a workplace obligation

Another year, new OSHA agendas, well-intentioned efforts to reduce risk and it feels like “déjà vu” all over again.

I keep waiting for more organizations to tackle the real issues in employee safety:

• Safety is a value – not a #1 priority
• Moving from “have to” be safe to getting employees to “want to” be safe.
• Safety is personal not just occupational – it must be 24-7

To be effective, safety must be a value interwoven into the organization’s culture. Note that this is not safety culture. Let us quit trying to make safety #1 at the expense of something else and recognize it for the organizational value it really is.

When we really care about people – and talk with them on an adult level – we open the door for employees to “want to” be safe and accountable for their actions. We plant that seed by getting them to think about the impact that a serious or fatal injury would have on their family and loved ones.

If we do the first two items, we can instill a family driven safety value that is 24-7. It is time that we move beyond the 4% of fatal injuries that are occupational and begin to tackle the challenges of safety at home and behind the wheel. Doing so offers the opportunity to improve the health and well-being of people on and off the job.

• When is the last time your organization tried to tackle these issues?
• When did you attend a professional conference that offered sessions tying all these issues together?
• Isn’t it time to try something different from what we have been doing?

I started my safety career in 1970 and it is nearly 40 years later. I am still hoping that the profession will one day opt for simple, proven approaches that can bring about real change in the thinking of a workforce. Hope I am not a naïve optimist….