Its a simple question - probably one that is asks more than any other when it comes to the management of safety - but its probably also one of the hardest to answer. More and more industry experts are moving towards a psychology-based approach to help develop their safety culture. This type of approach can be instrumental in achieving stronger, more sustainable results for all organizations, writes Dr Rod Gutierrez, principal psychologist for DuPont Sustainable Solutions.
Chances are your organisation already has a number safety rules, safety officers and a system to manage safety. However, despite our best efforts to increase safety in the workplace, incidents are still happening at a high rate.
According to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, there were 241,933 people who had a workplace injury in 2013. Although this is fewer than the 307,802 people who had a workplace injury in 2008, it appears our ability to further significantly reduce accidents has reached a plateau.
For many years, behavioural-based safety (BBS) programs were well suited to raising awareness of safety issues in the workplace. BBS is based on the premise that individuals are motivated to act safely through fear of repercussion rather than by a true internal commitment to safety. With BBS techniques ‘positive reinforcements’ tend to increase the likelihood of a particular behaviour reoccurring, whereas punishments or ‘negative reinforcements’ can reduce this likelihood.
However as the statistics suggest, such behavioural interventions have limited effectiveness over the longer term and do not sustain a continued reduction in safety incidents. We’ve reached the ‘BBS ceiling’.
Likewise, whilst systems, processes, regulations and tools all play an essential role when it comes to ensuring a safe working environment, it is equally important to understand the complexities of what makes individuals within the workforce act as they do.
“Behavioural interventions have limited effectiveness over the longer term and do not sustain a continued reduction in safety incidents”
The Role of Psychology
The role psychology plays in workplace safety should not be underestimated and has far more to offer than the behavioural psychology paradigm. As humans we have an inbuilt ability to adjust to our environment following prolonged exposure to it. It is the reason why people who live under an aeroplane flight path are seldom troubled by aircraft noise. In fact, they tend to notice more when the noise stops. In the same way workers can become accustomed to the consequences administered in response to their behaviour, be it safe or unsafe and thus effectiveness of the consequences eventually diminishes.
The most effective strategies for workplace safety include components of BBS coupled with other strategies that target the internal processes influencing safety behaviours and outcomes. This goes beyond influencing behaviour by external motivation and takes the form of an in-depth learning journey aimed at encouraging employees to choose to be safe; to acknowledge and assess their own safety (independence) and the safety of those around them (interdependence.)
The premise of cognitive psychology is that much of what influences our behaviour occurs ‘below the surface’ in our mental processing. Although behaviours and emotions can be readily observed, there are a number of internal processes that give rise to these behaviours.
Addressing these unobservable components, in collaboration with a more traditional BBS approach, can assist in ensuring workplace safety is managed to its optimum effectiveness.
Organizational Culture
In addition, social influences such as an organization’s culture and the style of leadership can change an employee’s thoughts, beliefs and values which, in turn, can shape their behaviour.
Organisational culture refers to things like the values, beliefs and accepted behaviours that employees share through myths, stories, rituals and specialised language. Consider the idiosyncrasies of your own work community for example: the symbolism of a corporate logo or the rituals of the Christmas party. This culture conveys a sense of identity for employees and can in turn facilitate a sense of commitment and act as a mechanism to guide and shape behaviour.
When an organisation includes safety as a part of its culture, it becomes an entrenched value that is vitally important at both an individual and group level. The presence of a robust ‘safety culture’ is a good predictor of safety performance behaviours, safety knowledge and safety motivation.
A “safety climate” is more about the percep- tion of safety in the workplace. This is closely concerned with intangible issues such as the situational and environmental factors that affect workplace practices. The “safety climate” is relatively unstable, subject to change and based on management practices.
The adaptation of organisational culture and climate to incorporate a core safety component can help equip employees with a belief in the importance of safe behaviours. No longer are they adhering to safety rules because they are concerned about punishment or are anticipating reward, but because they genuinely believe it is the right way to act.
The involvement and acceptance of safety in an organisational culture is heavily reliant on visible, felt leadership. A clear safety vision and policy needs to be set and communication should be two-way. There needs to be continuous safety development activities and clarification of accountability and responsibility.
A safety culture can be achieved by ensuring organisational commitment, management involvement, employee empowerment and appropriate systems for reward and reporting. These mechanisms can help influence the thoughts and beliefs of employees through contextual and social influence.
Overall, a broader psychology-based approach to safety that takes into account both elements of behavioural and cognitive psychology along with social influences and shared belief systems can be instrumental in achieving stronger, more sustainable results for organisations of all shapes and sizes.