Complacency in the workplace has become a leading contributor to many injuries or illnesses acquired while at work. Routines develop and safety standards are slowly forgotten or replaced by shortcuts. This complacency is gradual enough that overseers and supervisors fail to notice the change and begin to accept lower work quality. As complacency takes a firmer hold, more shortcuts are found, resulting in more accidents and hazards. There are even times when employees fail to report an accident of “almost-accident” because they do not see sufficient reason or just don’t bother. This can start both employees and employers blaming the other. In order to minimize, and hopefully eliminate workplace complacency, implement one or all of these five workplace safety strategies.
1. Know each employee on a individual level. Having been raised to respect each individual, as a supervisor you boost your authority among the employees by treating each person with respect. Become familiar with those who work with or under you and they will be more willing to come to your with any safety concerns they may have. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their safety related concerns and go over any company policies you feel need to be reviewed. It is your job to make sure they understand. When a safety concern is brought to your attention, do not ignore it. Even the smallest issue must be taken seriously in order to make sure each employee feels that their concerns are valid and not being ignored.
2. Focus on safety as a main topic in management planning. Make safety the priority in all aspects of the workplace, including the organizational and normal meetings. Bring up some of the suggesting made by employees to corporate. The employees are the ones living in the work environment and have more insights into what might need to happen in regards to safety. Change will happen faster and improvements made when the concerns are brought up consistently in meetings. Be sure you don’t easy over the negative effects that lackluster safety efforts will cause the company.
3. Regularly review ALL safety reports. Not only is it important to review the injury reports but also the reports that were deemed “near misses” and didn’t result in an actual injury. Both can illuminate potential workplace safety problems. Part of reviewing these reports is meeting with those involved in the reports. Know how the injured employees are doing. Interview those who had “almost” accidents to see if any change in safety policies should be considered for future prevention. Make sure that if change is required, that the necessary steps are taken.
4. Incorporate every employee into the safety process. Reward and recognize those employees who make an effort in being involved in safety. As a way to help each employee to do more, create a safety committee that is voluntary. Many employees join committees in the hopes of improving their chances of promotion. If the company is too large for one committee, move to implement one in each department. Have the members of the committee to work together on enforcing safety without the need of a higher authority looking over their shoulders.
Regular safety meetings where all committee members are allowed to voice any of their concerns will empower them. Also, another great way to minimize corporate complacency is to put together contests regarding safety. For example, offer a bonus to those who are incident-free for a specified period of time. Money can be a big incentive to avoid sliding into complacency or negligence.
5. Put together a system for reporting safety problems. Tattletales are often irritating and annoying, but also shouldn’t be ignored. If they have or see safety concerns, listen to what they have to say. Most employees don’t speak up in order to avoid conflict. Respect everyone’s need of non-confrontation by having a system where they can submit tips anonymously. If action needs to be taken against a specific employee, never reveal from whom you learned of the problem. By allowing anonymity people will be more willing to come forward and everyone will follow the safety guidelines and suggestions that you are trying to implement. When everyone knows that they can be reported without being able to find out who “tattled”, they will be more likely to be careful in the workplace.
Complacency is easily avoided by making safety an integral part of environment in the workplace. Both employees and supervisors must see how safety is a part of every aspect of the workplace, including the dangers of safety complacency. Videos, pictures, or exposure to real-life examples of what complacency can cause. Bring the theoretical into reality. Once a regular safety plan is firmly integrated into the workplace culture, it is much easier for everyone to enjoy the safety found in their workplace.
There are always those employees who regard safety as a place to save time or cut down on their work load. These needless and oftentimes selfish risks are in reality major hazards that could cause serious injury to a number of employees, not just themselves.
What should be the top priority of both workers and employers and most often mentioned part of the workplace? Safety! One of those potential dangers is confined or tight spaces.
Actions speak louder than words, right? Not when it comes to OSHA. While the agency wants to see that your employees practice safety on a daily basis, they also insist that you put in place all of the written programs required under OSHA standards. It is also imperative that you create and maintain the many types of records required by OSHA, to avoid misreporting incidents, or even lawsuits.
If employees don’t feel involved and represented in their company’s safety program, it is unlikely the program will be successful. A workplace safety committee is a tool that, if created and conducted properly, can increase the effectiveness of a safety program by:
In 1903, a Russian scientist, Ivan Pavlov, proved you could teach a dog to react in a certain way if it was rewarded appropriately after demonstrating the desired response. This simple beginning laid the foundation for the behaviorist school of psychology, which became the basis for a frequently used management style.
OSHA inspections are all too common in the construction industry. Employers should certainly expect these visits, but should never become too passive. It’s much more effective to stop reacting to inspections, and become more proactive by learning how to control them. This is extremely important because the nature of construction work makes your company highly vulnerable to the possibility of being cited. A construction project requires a large number of direct employees as well as indirect employees, such as sub-contractors and their staffs; and as the number of workers increases the number of possibilities for error increases, proportionately. That’s why your best defense is a good offense. Knowing how to manage an OSHA inspection is critical. 
On February 27, 2006, the Construction Safety & Drug Abuse Executive Roundtable convened to discuss employee drug use in the construction industry and how the effects of on-site usage impact the workplace. The event featured a panel of executives from construction, insurance, and labor management, who attempted to gauge the scope of the problem.
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In this tough economy, job seekers need an advantage to stand apart from their competition. The same holds true for those who already have jobs if they want to keep them or advance in their careers.