Signs of a bad safety culture

The Warning Signs

You rely on your employer to keep you safe on the job, and they boast a top notch workplace with a strong commitment to safety. You generally follow the rules, wear the required PPE and take the necessary training. So why would an accident happen to you? Consider this: maybe everyone in your workplace doesn’t share the same enthusiasm for safety that you have. Can you do anything about it? Can your employer?

Employers bear a huge responsibility to protect their workers from injury. The regulations they must abide by are very demanding, to say the least. If you suspect a poor safety culture at your workplace may be developing, keep a keen eye out for these 7 behavioral warning signs.

These behaviors indicate warning signs that persons in your workplace may display when not taking responsibility for their own safety, and thus are the tell-tale signs of a deteriorating safety culture.

• Being too tired for the job;
• Consuming drugs or alcohol at work;
• Ignoring written safety procedures;
• Skipping safety meetings;
• Refusing to wear PPE;
• Operating equipment without training; or,
• Working too quickly.

If you see one or more of these behaviors in your organization on a regular basis from one or more of your coworkers, say something to your supervisor or manager. There’s one thing your employer can’t do – control your actions and your attitude or the actions and attitudes of your coworkers. If you’re caught in a workplace with a deteriorating safety culture, as an employee, you must also take charge of your own safety. Remember, you have the most to gain… and the most to lose.

Do you see these signs and more around your workplace? Check out “How To Improve Your Safety Culture” next month with our own Jason Heilpern and you’ll get great insight into how to get buy in from your employees and improve the safety culture in your organization.