Safe Employees are Productive Employees
Table of Contents
Why invest in workplace safety?
Overcoming workplace safety misconceptions
Productivity is key to any successful business
Safe employees result in productive employees
Safe employees are happier and more engaged = increase productivity
Positive work culture equals increased employee retention
Safety training and education
Return on investment, direct, and indirect costs
Why invest in workplace safety?
Employees have the right to a safe and healthy workplace environment. If this is not the case, then workers will be inhibited from performing at their full potential. Productivity and safety go hand in hand. Thus, an organization that invests in safety will be rewarded with more productive employees.
Overcoming workplace safety misconceptions
It is a common belief that investing in safety actually reduces productivity in the workplace. This misconception may be justified due to extra time that must be dedicated to learning, training, and implementing safety procedures, which could result in lost work time. However, studies have shown that investing in safety is both productive and profitable! Simply put, safe employees who are working efficiently and effectively will get more done right. In this article, we will discuss how safety and productivity are positively correlated, in addition to the ways in which safety protects your bottom line.
Productivity is key to any successful business
There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive. A productive employee uses their time and resources efficiently and can measure their success quantitatively. Productive people generate tangible results and have something to show for their work. Productive employees support and drive a company’s success. Thus, every organization should have a common goal of maximizing productivity. Considering cost savings, it is common to lose sight of this and often tempting to take shortcuts. However, these shortcuts will cost your company in the long run. The initial investment will outweigh the few dollars you save by not investing in safety. Like the direct and indirect costs associated with workplace injuries, there are direct and indirect prices that come with only considering your current bottom line.
Safe employees result in productive employees
Taking shortcuts when it comes to implementing proper safety procedures within your organization may seem like a good idea in the short term; if nothing goes wrong, there will be more money in your pocket and less time dedicated to implementing these new safety procedures. But what if an incident does take place and your organization is not prepared to deal with it in a time and cost-efficient way? Companies rely on their employees to accomplish tasks, operate machinery, and monitor processes. If a productive employee is unable to work, downtime is inevitable and with that comes lost productivity. This has negative impacts on an organization’s bottom line.
Safe employees are happier and more engaged = increase productivity
While safety programs require an initial investment, they have a positive impact on employee health. An organization that invests in safety will be indirectly rewarded with healthier and happier workers - safe employees - who are likely to be more reliable and more productive. A worker who is confident doing their job will outperform a worker who is not. For instance, it would be very difficult for an employee to do a good job if they are concerned about their personal safety. Even the smallest injury can negatively affect an employee a significant deal. With a proper safety program, these accidents are completely avoidable and employee confidence, stress levels, and morale are safeguarded.
Positive work culture equals increased employee retention
Safety should be the top priority in every company. It’s one thing to acknowledge this well-known fact, but if an organization is not investing in safety, they cannot truthfully claim that safety is a top priority. By implementing proactive safety procedures, your company is essentially telling employees that their safety is important and worthwhile, helping build a positive safety culture amongst your team. This has huge impacts on employee morale. It’s essential to feel that your safety and well-being matters. How valued a productive employee feels has a positive correlation with their engagement, dedication, and loyalty to a company. Thus, investing in safety will keep your employees around. Reduced employee turnover has positive impacts on an organization’s bottom line.
Safety training and education
A major, and sometimes overlooked, the step of safety investment in safety training and education of the employees who any safety measures impact and protect. In order for any safety procedures to protect your team effectively, they must be trained thoroughly and regularly – it's not a one-time event. Consistently updating your safety policies and protocols, and then providing the necessary training, will significantly protect the team from any identified safety hazards and risks. Training ensures that everyone is on board and can react quickly and appropriately in an emergency. Additionally, not only will employees be objectively safer, but will be happier because they will feel valued by the training and its objectives – which is to protect their safety and well-being. Try to make any training as fun and engaging as possible.
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Return on investment, direct, and indirect costs
When asked about the indirect costs of a workplace accident, The American Society of Safety Engineers says, “Anyone who has had the misfortune of witnessing or handling the aftermath of a serious or fatal on-the-job injury knows that, without question, the costs go far beyond those that appear in a company’s ledger book. A bad reputation for safety and health may mean being unable to attract workers at all or having to pay wages well above market value to do so.”
Whether it’s workplace disruptions, loss of productivity, worker replacement, training, damaged equipment, increases to insurance premiums – employers always bear the indirect costs of an injury. The OSHA, the American Society of Safety Engineers, the UK Health and Safety Executive, and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety all agree on one thing: there is a clear, measurable ROI to investing in safety culture.
A single injury can incur a direct cost of $30,000
The Indirect cost associated can go as high as $33,000
Now we have a total of $63,000. But that isn’t just loss. Breaking even on that loss of profit would be extremely difficult.
At 2.78%, just covering the indirect cost requires an additional $1,187,050 of income
The total costs add up to $2,266,187!
From an ROI perspective alone, investing in safety is worthwhile. When it comes down to it, for every dollar that you leave in your pocket, it will cost you. Improved productivity is one of many positive externalities realized by investing in safety.