Get the most out of your workplace health & safety system

Imagine a workplace where your physical and mental health is of no particular concern or priority despite a WH&S policy on the wall.  You go to work each day hoping that you do not sustain a workplace injury. You know that if you are unlucky enough to have an accident, you will be blamed and your whole team will miss out on a monthly bonus.

Are you feeling engaged right now?  Probably not I suspect.

The above scenario may seem far-fetched or something from a by-gone era, but this is the reality of a poorly thought out workplace health and safety program.

Some of the regularly promoted benefits of successful workplace health and safety programs include improved employee retention and morale, increased productivity, reduced costs and enhanced employee engagement.  For these benefits to be realised however, the program needs to be more than a token effort at legislative compliance.  A ‘tick and flick’ approach to workplace health and safety is unlikely to get the above results and could actually be detrimental. Especially in terms of employee engagement.

For a workplace health and safety program to be engaging rather than disconnecting requires leadership, commitment to cultural and organisational change, honesty, and a plan that focuses on rewarding constructive behaviours rather than penalizing people for making mistakes.  One example of how this can be done is focusing on lead indicators as a measure of workplace health and safety performance rather than lag indicators, the latter of which can result in a culture of hiding accidents and injuries rather than eliminating risk.

A successful workplace health and safety program has the potential to provide a return on investment when implemented well.  I am a firm believer that for this to be achieved though, we need to pat people on the back rather than beat them with a stick.

At HR Business Direction we are able to assist with Workplace Health and Safety programs that engage your people.  Contact us here.

Christina WillcoxMHSc; PostGradDip OHS; BBus(HRM)
Workplace Health & Safety Specialist
christina.willcox@hrbd.com.au
07 3890 2066
www.hrbd.com.au