Building Safe Habits in the Workplace
Building a safe work environment is everyone’s responsibility. Just like any work rules, safety works best when it’s consistent. If you want to establish a real culture of safety, you need to make safety a habit.Creating an effective habit is more than just repetition, it’s about adopting a new mindset. In this post we’ll look at some of the ways that you can make an ongoing commitment to safety in your workplace.
You need to want a safe environment
Just like any kind of effective resolution, safety needs to be something that you want to achieve. Safety can’t be thought of as something that’s mandated if you’re going to create an effective culture of safety. All employees are needed to work toward a common safety goal. Employers should review safe work practices often, and employees should know how to spot potential hazards. If an employee believes their work is unsafe, they should feel comfortable waiting until the danger is resolved.
Practice makes perfect
Having effective safety practices won’t mean anything if those practices aren’t followed. When developing safety policies, employees need to be clear that safety is non-optional. Developing effective habits takes repetition, and contrary to a popular myth, habits can take longer than 21 days to develop.Employees should wear the appropriate safety gear at all times, and have access to any equipment that could help during an emergency. Safety equipment can't help you if it’s left behind when work begins.
Know what to do when the time comes
Besides having the right policies and equipment in place, everyone needs to know how these tools work during an emergency. Safety training isn’t just for compliance, it helps protect everyone in the workplace.Safety in the workplace affects everyone. Just like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, your workplace is only as safe as your employees.
Creating lasting change
Creating change within an organization can be difficult. Even good changes can get push back from employees who are set in their way. One of the most important things to stress is that safety measures are in place for everyone's well-being. Once employees realize that safety is a benefit, they’ll appreciate your concern.
Creating lasting change
Creating change within an organization can be difficult. Even good changes can get push back from employees who are set in their way. One of the most important things to stress is that safety measures are in place for everyone's well-being. Once employees realize that safety is a benefit, they’ll appreciate your concern.
