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Learning how to reduce accidents in the workplace can be challenging. Safety success can be as elusive to some organizations as the Loch Ness Monster or mermaids have been to men throughout modern history. While most companies desire a safe workplace, the true reasons they fail are quite compelling. In short, most companies treat symptoms while few really determine the cause of accidents. Too many organizations believe the disease of injury is superficial rather than a
comprehensive infection of leadership in the workplace. Simply put, people do not desire to be injured, yet accidents continue to occur. Why? Risky behavior is much more complicated than most managers realize. It is a complex reaction to stimuli in the workplace that is exacerbated by contradictory leadership. The true cause of most accidents is leadership or the lack thereof. Having trained thousands of front line employees in many industries, I have
determined some common realities that simply cannot be ignored. The following seven observations, while not exhaustive, manifest themselves repeatedly whenhelping organizations achieve a true safety culture. If you place emphasis on these realities in any organization, you can identify opportunities to reduce accidents on the job.
- Most companies address risky behavior rather than the human reason behind the behavior. In other words they treat the symptom rather than the disease. There is nothing wrong with treating symptoms to gain short-term relief. However, the true illness is often not identified and treated when it comes to risky behavior. The most common reason I get for risky behavior is a perception that the employee wants to “get the job
done”. If you can freeze a moment in time and make an analysis of the decision at the human level, things get very interesting. The person makes a split-second decision to behave in a way that supports the higher number of stimuli. If a supervisor constantly tells people to hurry for production while occasionally mentioning being safe, the dominant stimulus most often guides human behavior.
- Peer pressure is a neglected influence on human
behavior. The need to be accepted is a primal need. The sense of belonging is powerful in that it reflects generations of human existence. Oxytocin in the brain is a powerful hormone that makes us feel good when we belong to a group. If a peer group utilizes risky behavior, the individual will often utilize the same behavior to gain acceptance. Most people do not desire to stand outamong peers.
- Individuals take risk for both internal and external reasons. Both must be addressed to understand the true causation of behavior. While many exist, a common external reason for behavior is the direction of a supervisor. An implied belief is that risk will be tolerated as long as the objective is achieved. An internal reason for risk can be as simple as relief from physical stress. During the latter stages of a
twelve-hour shift in aphysically demanding job, the employee may be thinking of nothing more than getting finished and going home.
- The psychology of work and risk as identified by the Hawthorne effect and hypocrisy influence behavior. The Hawthorne effect states...
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