Influence and Safety Culture

Regardless of your job title or the role you play at work, you influence other people around you. Every one of us has influence on each other; even when we don’t realize it. Regarding how this influences work and workplace safety, your attitude goes a long way in building or destroying the safety culture in your organization. We spend more time every month with our coworkers than we do with our own families. At one point or another every one of us has witnessed the influence a single person can have over an entire group of people and whether that influence was positive or negative. Dan Buettner, a New York Times bestselling author and three-time Guinness World Record holder in endurance cycling once said “the people you surround yourself with influence your behaviours, so choose friends who have healthy habits”. Consider how this same quote would apply at work, are you practicing healthy habits concerning safety? If not, where did you learn these negative habits from and more importantly, who is learning from you? Are you setting people up for success?

Consider the role a Supervisor plays when leading the workers on their projects or on their crews or the role a veteran tradesperson plays when mentoring a new apprentice. Influence can have one of three effects on people, with only one being positive; it can motivate us, demotivate us, or we can be apathetic to the influence. Safety is and should be a major focal point for all companies, especially in the construction industry. The effect that a person has over workers can dictate how or if the work is being done in a manner that won’t endanger workers, property, or equipment. Attitudes, words, and actions that push towards doing things safely send a message to others and influence how they feel about working for the company and doing the job they’ve been assigned to do. When a worker feels that safety is just as important as getting the job done, it motivates that worker and lets that worker know that his or her safety matter; that the company cares about them and their well-being. When a worker feels good about the job that they are doing, they will generally work smarter, harder, and safer to get that work done. All of this comes down to the influence that other people within the company have on them from their first day on the job.

?Developing a safety culture starts with the people who run the company and goes right down to the people who execute the work every day in the field. If you’re treating safety like it’s just another thing people must do because the company forces them to do it without actually being a positive influence on them, you truly can’t build that functioning and thriving safety culture. Leaders have to set the first example; to hold others to account for skimping out on safety. That sets the tone and begins to influence everyone around them, having a trickle-down effect into the field. If the labourer understands that they will be expected to work safely and held to account if they don’t, it becomes part of the working culture. Influence is everything in building cultures! When it comes down to it, safety is a mindset. You can look at it as something you “have to do because they make you” or you can look at it as a duty that you have to yourself and those around you to ensure that all reasonable precautions are taken in the workplace for worker protection. ?Your mindset becomes your working identity, that identity will play a role in how you influence people at work. Building a culture of care takes everyone’s commitment and involvement. If you’re a leader within an organization, take a second to consider what influence you have on those around you when it comes to safety.

As always, stay safe! Here’s to a safe year ahead.

?John?Savoia, Director of Health and Safety

RSG International

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