While measured from the bottom up, culture is most influenced from the top down. A company’s safety and health culture is no different—embodying employee attitudes toward occupational safety and health programs. When leadership exudes positivity or negativity, it rubs off on the workforce and resonates in a #ThinkSafetyFirst environment.
Do your employees know the health and safety expectations for their jobs, and do they follow protocol? Consider the following:
Issue: Companies with poor safety cultures tend to have higher incident rates than companies with positive environments. A poor safety culture also proliferates reactions to hazards, rather than addressing issues before they become problems. Safety tends to be an afterthought in these instances.
Resolution: Consider safety protocols before work begins. When workers act proactively, hazards are identified and eliminated or mitigated.
Issue: Employees may not fully understand the ramifications of negative outcomes from workplace safety issues.
Resolution: Ensure employees are educated—the foundation for positive workplace safety cultures. Understanding how to mitigate hazards avoids catastrophic incidents ranging from amputation, terminal illness, paralysis, or death.
Issue: A negative safety culture increases turnover rates. According to Work Institute’s Retention Report, 2010 through 2019 reflected a nearly 1,000% increase in workers leaving a job due to an unsafe environment, compared to the previous decade.
Resolution: Instill a safety culture where your workforce can thrive! Reach out to our team at healthandsafety@dawood.cc to learn more best safety practices and stay tuned to our #ThinkSafetyFirst blog series.