In occupational health & safety, complacency is a state in which employees or workers fail to remain diligent about safety in the work environment over time.
Additionally, complacency can occur at the workplace when employees get used to working in dangerous conditions. Most employees believe that they cannot get injured because they have many years of experience completing their daily tasks without incident.
Unfortunately, worker complacency is the leading cause of accidents and injuries in workplaces with hazardous machinery.
Although employees may have gone through health & safety training, some may still get comfortable or be out of touch with their surroundings while at the workplace.
The bad thing about complacency is that those who are affected are never aware that they are putting their lives and others at risk.
Avoiding Complacency In Safety At The Workplace
As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that all your employees are in touch with reality when at the workplace.
As such, if you notice that your employees are becoming complacent, you should consider applying the necessary countermeasures before something bad happens.
Regular Health & Safety Training
One of the best ways that you can counter complacency at the workplace is by coaching your employees. Through coaching, you can remind your employees about some safety procedures and what they stand for in the company.
To get maximum results, you need to design coaching sessions that are not only engaging but also informative. Invite occupational health & safety experts to help you with the training.
Advanced Consulting and Training offers workplace safety programs in Ottawa. Our safety professionals can help you get the job done.
Focus On Company Values
Safety is paramount in every organization, so it should be part of the company’s values. That way, the employees will always be reminded about their safety.
The company should focus on providing employees with health & safety training to avoid misunderstandings, especially when going through safety regulations.
When explaining the company values, include employees in the discussion by allowing them to share their personal stories.
Use Different Routines
The human mind can easily get used to routines. As a result, employees will get used to doing things a certain way. Consequently, the employees will be less engaged in whatever they are doing.
By applying different routines at the workplace, employees will have new ways of doing things, thus lowering the probability of them becoming complacent. It is important to ensure that these new routines still comply with safety regulations.
Create Self-awareness
The other thing that you can do as an employer is to develop a program that can help your employees to be conscious about their work environment at all times.
This will enable the employees to identify the hazards at the workplace before disaster strikes. Health & safety training is also another way that you can create awareness at the workplace.
Use Safety Signs
Ensure that you place safety signs in all hazardous areas around the workplace. This will remind the employees to be more careful when doing things. The key to using safety signs is placing them in places where everyone can see them.
Advanced Consulting & Training – JHSC Functional Support
Occupational health & safety experts highly discourage complacency at the workplace since it leads to accidents and serious disasters.
By engaging employees in health & safety training programs, you can prevent complacency. At Advanced Consulting & Training, we encourage you to use one or more of the tips that we have highlighted above for safety purposes.
Another way to ensure you avoid complacency is by forming a Joint Health and Safety Committee. Implementing one is no easy task, which is why we are here to help you do so. Or, if you already have one, we can offer you functional support to ensure the committee remains compliant over time.
Get in touch with our team today to learn more about working with us to create a safer workplace for all.
