Are you feeling safe at work? If that sounds like a strange question, bear with us for a moment, and let’s look at the numbers together.
2021 figures from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that 2.6 million Americans were injured or contracted an illness at work in 2021. Which is a considerable number of people who, in one way or another, were not as safe as they could, or should, be in their workplace.
Maybe that statistic makes you rethink your answer to the question. The truth is that whether you feel safe in your workplace or not, most employers are able to do more to protect their employees. And here is another fact: a solid and effective commitment to safety needs to be inspired by leadership, and therefore deeply rooted in the company culture.
In this article we outline what it takes to transform your company.
What Defines a Company's Culture?
Before diving into more profound concepts, let’s clarify what influences a business’s company culture in general.
The
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) defines company culture as a “strongly held and widely shared set of beliefs supported by strategy and structure.”
Investopedia’s definition adds behaviors to the values and beliefs from SHRM’s approach.
In companies with strong cultures, employees at all levels are sure about three things:
- They know how to respond to any situation they’re facing
- They believe their response to that situation is correct
- They know they’ll be rewarded for that response because it aligns with the company’s values
Most organizational value systems develop gradually, and organically too, over time. They're highly influenced by the values the company’s leadership team holds as well as factors that have previously contributed to success.
Founders can considerably impact a company’s values, even after they have left the business. For example, a founder who allows open, aggressive behavior will leave behind a business with a very different culture than someone who resolves conflicts quietly and diplomatically.
But what does all of this have to do with safety? Well, creating a safety culture starts with a commitment by the leadership team. And this commitment should then be backed up by actions allowing you to deliver on what's been said.
Turning Theory into Practice With a Safe Reporting Environment
So, how do you put a theoretical commitment to a safety culture into practice?
First of all, understand that the concept begins with developing policies and procedures that prioritize safety over profit. And as you may imagine, some of the safest workplaces have this commitment written into their business goals, which means there is no conflict between safety and profitability.
Creating these policies can be easier than you think. Many industries are subject to government regulations like the ones published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). If your industry is among those affected by such guidelines, those rules can form the basis of your policies.
If your organization isn't governed by OSHA or other government bodies, look at the causes of illnesses and injuries and how your team deals with them.
In an organization with a deeply embedded
workplace safety culture, the leadership team will actively encourage employees to talk about things that went wrong.
Here, the goal is to learn from less-than-optimal outcomes and "near misses" to avoid repeating them in the future. Within an environment like this, no one is looking for who to blame. Instead, leaders empower employees to take charge of the situation and take the company in the right direction
Encouraging and Supporting Open Communication
Open communication is critical because employees who are worried about being subject to repercussions for reporting a breach obviously won’t contribute as they should.
And if that happens, the fault doesn’t lie with the employee, does it? Instead, it is a testament to a failure in leadership. So leaders need to encourage honesty, and support employees who report their concerns to their line managers, and in this way, safety can (and will) improve.
Remember, failings don’t only apply to companies usually found at the top of accident statistics: office-based work is not immune to accidents! And don’t forget that office workers are just as likely to suffer from illness due to long-term stress, for example.
So how can leadership teams encourage the right values? One of the most straightforward yet powerful approaches is leading by example and reporting breaches or concerns to the relevant authorities rather than brushing them under the carpet.
These leaders will then stand up to the scrutiny they may subsequently receive and will respond by implementing more robust safety measures. And of course they will also reward their employees when they speak out!
Taking a Proactive Approach to Safety
Not all potential safety problems are immediately apparent to people working in the immediate environment ... or to the company’s management team. Arguably, that makes them harder to address. This means that taking a proactive approach, in other words actively looking to identify hidden issues, is needed.
In addition, organizations need to consider different
safety and security procedures. One thing is working in potentially dangerous environments like construction sites or areas where workers may be exposed to hazardous substances. But establishing a safety culture also means thinking about protecting confidential or privileged information. As companies everywhere rely more and more on data, cybersecurity measures have become an essential component here.
And of course, being proactive about workplace safety also means giving employees the tools and protective equipment to maintain a safe workplace. This may include personal protection equipment (PPE) and alarm systems that make employees aware of dangers like fires and other emergencies. Where appropriate, recording visitors and monitoring sites with AV technology adds a layer in many workplaces.
Conclusion
When it comes to improving workplace safety, American businesses have great potential but also have some work to do.
To realize that potential, leadership teams need to introduce a safety commitment into everything the company does. Starting with business goals and establishing solid safety policies and procedures, companies can create a value system that allows employees to speak up when they see something going wrong. After all, prevention is better than cure .. or, worse, damage limitation...
Supporting these open communications and avoiding a focus on blame allows businesses to establish the kind of culture that improves the workplace and helps grow revenues in the long term.
That's got to be a good thing, hasn't it?
