Improving Safety Attitudes

Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in decades of research on achievement and success, showed your attitude is a better predictor of your success than your IQ.  She found that people’s core attitudes fall into two categories; fixed mindset or growth mindset.  With a fixed mindset you believe you are who you are and cannot change.  With a growth mindset you believe you believe you can improve with effort.

We believe that almost all workers have a growth mindset when it comes to safety and believe that they can improve in that effort.  Can then attitude be taught?  Can you change attitudes?  Can you improve attitudes? Of course, it all starts with communications. Here is an article on communications within safety awards efforts that might be of interest. 

Once you have developed and implemented a communications plan, here are some other steps you might want to consider to build a positive safety attitude in your organization:

·       Utilize different methods of communications with regular updates on safety performance

·       Encourage safety suggestions that continuously and consistently drive the number, quality and implementation of suggestions.

·       Consider small rewards to employees who bring hazardous conditions to your attention and assist in correcting them

·       As safety training is paramount, consider closing the behavioral loop by measuring the effectiveness of your training and rewarding employees for improved performance based on that training.

·       Along with recognizing employees for ongoing safe behavior, use small tangible awards for maintaining safe behaviors and eliminating unsafe behaviors. 

·       Get your management involved. This may seem straightforward but it’s often the most difficult to do.  Give them something to do and keep them in front of the employees often to show support. 

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net