The safety culture in an organization is the way everyone in the organization thinks and feels about health and safety. A culture on its own is a subtle mix of formal and informal rules. It is a particular way of getting things done in an organization. No one person determines the safety culture of an organization; everyone working together in a workplace determines it collectively.
In any organization, they can either have a strong or weak safety culture, or a positive and negative safety culture. No matter the one they have, there is always a correlation between safety culture and Performance.
The correlation between a safety culture and Safety performance.
Positive safety culture.
In an organization with a strong and positive safety culture, everyone feels and behaves in a manner that shows that health and safety are important. Most times, when the managers want to make decisions, they have to consider the safety implications before doing so. The management themselves show strong safety leadership from the top through their attitude, and this attitude translates to other workers’ behavior in the workplace. In such an organization, everyone works very safely because that’s the way things are done and the way everyone else is behaving, too. In such an organization, people who do not regard health and safety are in the minority, and sooner, they will start thinking and behaving safely.
So in such an organization, the positive safety culture will bring a raise in the safety performance. The safety performance in that organization will be of a very high standard. There will be fewer accidents and incidents and fewer illnesses in such a workplace; the safety culture in that organization will have a direct influence on the worker’s behavior and, in turn, improve safety performance.
Negative Safety Culture.
In an Organization where there is a negative safety culture, the managers and the management will not have any regard for health and safety. They will not likely consider health and safety as a priority in making their decisions. They will see health and safety as unnecessary or not too important. The senior management will not regard health and safety because they don’t show clear directions and leadership.
Even among the workers, the consciousness of safety is low; those who are safety conscious are in the minority, and they can easily be overruled by those workers who are safety unconscious. Lack of attention to safety in such an organization can easily result in accidents and diseases.
ALSO READ:
- How to calculate man hours in (hse) safety
- Which categories of people does an employer owe a duty to under safety and health?
- 3 tips on how to promote a culture of safety in a workplace.
Safety Performance
A positive safety culture and a negative safety culture can influence safety performance. Safety culture can lead to good safety performance, but a negative safety culture can result in poor safety performance.
Onyeka Emma is a QHSE Professional with more than 10 years of experience in occupational health and safety, which spans many industries such as construction, beverage, oil and gas, etc. He has many health and safety certifications, including NEBOSH IGC, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 Lead auditor certificate. A member of IOSH, ISPON, and Nigeria Red Cross Society. He is interested in business, entrepreneurship, Speaking, and motivating people to do better for themselves. He enjoys leisure with a good motivational book.
