How is the “safety climate” or attitude regarding safety within the organization where you work? “Safety climate and safety culture are two terms that are used interchangeably. A safety culture is described as safety attitudes, values and practices that exist at a deeper level within an organization. To build positive safety attitudes, the workplace must have a strong safety culture. A safety climate is how workers perceive the safety management of the workplace. How is your attitude about safety?
Effective accident prevention efforts strengthen the workplace stance of both employees and supervisors. The entire workforce should be involved and committed to creating the best possible safety environment. Rather than building the policies and procedures from the “top down”, it should begin from the “bottom up”. The ones that are doing the work are the ones most likely to be injured, so their ideas and suggestions should be listened to closely. They are the ones who witness near-misses, patterns of co-workers’ behavior, attitudes, taking shortcuts, or making decisions based on guesses rather than following standard operating procedures.
A well-planned and implemented behavioral safety system leads to workforce stewardship of safety systems, fewer accidents, fewer near misses, less property damage, more reporting of defects, and added reporting of accidents. Supervisors must work with their employees to understand why and how incidents happened, and work together to take corrective actions. Sometimes the saying, “It’s just the way we do things here,” may not mean that it’s the safe way to do things.
Motivational posters can contribute to better feelings toward our work. Whether they are serious or funny, they can make one stop and think. Don’t ignore them, as your employer has placed them there for a reason.
Take a look at the attitude you display at your workplace. Think about how your job performance affects your coworkers. Everyone wants to go home at the end of his/her shift. A bad attitude can cause a mishap that leads to regret. Show a safe attitude by behaving that way. Can you name the safest person at your workplace? Is it you?