Following
is a synopsis of an interesting blog post written by Judy Agnew Ph.D., senior
vice president of Aubrey Daniels International, who works closely with clients
to strengthen sustainable safety cultures.
She maintains that a solid safety culture starts with good relationships
between employees and management.
From a
behaviorist’s perspective, safety is fundamentally a behavioral issue. And as such, the only way to change or
improve behavior is to use a process grounded in the science of behavior. That process has to start with a positive
and trusting working relationship between employee and management. To go beyond the basics compliance
requirements of a safety process, it boils down to the discretionary effort of
the employees. Exceptional safety
happens when employees are in lock step with management. Unfortunately you won’t get this kind of
discretionary effort when employees dislike, distrust or worse, fear the boss.
According to Agnew:
Discretionary effort is created through the use of positive
reinforcement. Research shows that when people are recognized for what
they do well around safety and when reporting problems and concerns is met with
reinforcing consequences (such as joint problem solving and problem
resolution), employees will be more engaged in safety.
Within the post
you can see a list of behaviors that contribute to positive workplace
relationship. They can be exhibited by
any worker type and will lead to improved work in general.
For more
information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please
contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net
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