Running a business isn’t just about hiring the right people or having sufficient financial support. The culture your business has also matters. Culture is crucial in the workplace because it impacts employees in many ways, namely their engagement, motivation, and productivity.
The effect of culture on your employees is the reason you should prioritize fostering a safety culture. Although challenging at first, having this kind of culture at work can mean safer employees and better business in the long run.
What Is Safety Culture?
Safety culture doesn’t only include understanding safety protocols and following them every single day. Safety culture is an organizational culture that prioritizes the importance of safety attitudes, beliefs, and values. A safety culture means every employee in the company emphasizes workplace safety and adheres to the standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA.
Safety culture in the workplace should start at the top, simply because employees will eventually follow behaviors and attitudes modeled by their leaders. The more consistent managers are in implementing a safety culture, the sooner employees will start to follow.
Why Is Safety Culture in the Workplace Important?
Yes, you’ll have to oversee different aspects when you run a business, but safety should always be one. Having a safety culture in the workplace offers a myriad of benefits, namely:
1. Reduction of Risks of Accidents
The biggest reason why a safety culture in the workplace is important is that it helps reduce the number of injuries. Although no one can predict when accidents will strike, having a safety culture makes it easy for your employees to spot loopholes, understand risks, and then take necessary measures to avoid accidents from happening.
A safety culture in the workplace includes orienting new hires on the safety procedures and conducting meetings to refresh the skills and knowledge of tenured employees. Implementing this practice long-term ensures that employees of all levels in the organization understand how important their safety is and how they can protect themselves at work.
2. Reduced Medical and Insurance Costs
Employee accidents can put a dent in an organization’s financial resources because of expensive medical and insurance costs. The employer is liable for the injured employee’s hospital and medical bills, as well as for their insurance. Paying for these expenses can snowball into bigger problems, especially if the organization is young or is still starting.
Promoting safety culture with your employees helps cut costs on medical and insurance, as it reduces the number of accidents. When your employees make fewer claims, you can spend your finances on better investments, which can help catapult the business into its long-term success.
3. Business Stability
Emergencies that take place in the workplace or those concerning your employees can impact the operations and longevity of your business. For example, an employee who got injured at work can sue you for not caring about their safety. Lawsuits can cause thousands of dollars and adversely impact your brand — consequences that can prevent your business from operating.
Safety culture in the workplace is important because it ensures business stability. When your employees are well-trained and informed, they’ll know to remain safe while working. This will also help them respond to emergencies once they arise.
With a safety culture in the workplace, delayed productivity due to injured employees has a lesser chance to happen. Over time, this will help your company grow as you don’t have to spend resources on lawsuits, and you won’t have to worry about having a bad image or brand.
4. Less Stress at Work
Stress is normal in the workplace, but having too much of it can adversely affect the productivity of your employees. Stress often leads to anxiety, burnout, and depression, which can result in high absenteeism, high labor turnover, poor performance, and poor timekeeping.
Another reason why having a safety culture in the workplace is important is that it helps lessen stress. With a safety culture, all of your employees will stay accountable. This will encourage them to be more aware of their actions at work, and their behaviors can affect other levels in the organization.
According to Forbes, personal accountability is one of the best ways to reduce stress on the job because it prevents employees from worrying all the time and looking over their shoulders. Being accountable also creates space for learning and allows employees to do more at work.
Most importantly, with fewer injuries taking place at work, employees won’t be scared of making decisions and owning them. This will help everyone think out of the box and support creative thinking.
5. Better Recruitment Potential
The brand or image of an organization impacts its recruitment potential. If your organization is known to have several employee accidents every year, you’ll likely have a hard time looking for talents. No one wants to work in an organization that doesn’t keep its employees safe!
With a robust safety culture, you’ll have lesser incident reports, resulting in better recruitment potential. A clean safety record will make your organization appealing to the eyes of the best talents in the industry. With a brand or image like this, you won’t have any problems hiring the best employees for your organization.
Implement a Safety Culture ASAP
Embracing a safety culture in the workplace guarantees countless benefits, so make sure to create one ASAP. This process starts by defining responsibilities and creating an organization for safety, and ends with holding all employees accountable. The process of building a safety culture isn’t an easy feat as it requires plenty of resources, but the results are surely worth it!
