Maintaining a safe workplace is the responsibility of every employee. Contribute to your employer’s culture of safety by abiding safety protocols and participating in regular safety meetings.
In honor of National Safety Month, here are specific ways you can help keep your workplace a safe place for everyone.
What is safety culture?
A safety-focused work culture goes beyond complying with OSHA and undergoing training. It’s more than following safety processes because someone told you to. Those things are very important, but this takes it one step further.
Safety culture is a specific type of workplace attitude that places high importance on safety beliefs, values and attitudes. In this type of environment, everyone in the company, across all positions and departments, does their part to keep their workplace the safest it can be. It is more of a mindset than a process.
What can you do to contribute?
There are several things you can do to keep your workplace as safe as it can be, such as taking responsibility, actively participating in safety meetings, and leading by example.
Acknowledge your accountability. The first thing you can do to uphold your company’s safety culture is recognize that you are accountable, too. Your employer should provide you with the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety trainings, but you are responsible for upholding the right processes and truly embracing the culture. With that in mind, always wear the proper PPE and take the steps necessary to minimize risk in your work area. Be aware of the environment around you and report any concerns to the proper authorities.
Participate in safety committees. If your company has a safety committee you can join, look to become an active member. Attend all the meetings, as well as the regularly scheduled safety programs, to keep up to date on new safety measures or provide insight on how safety protocols could be improved. You could also join a health and safety group in your community on behalf of your employer to discuss workplace safety.
Lead by example. Showing up to every shift with a focus on safety can do more than you think. When you model the correct behavior and processes every single time, others around will follow suit, regardless of if you’re a supervisor or team lead. Additionally, take the time to educate and coach your peers and coworkers whenever opportunities arise on how to execute safety protocols correctly.
Contributing to workplace safety culture should be the responsibility and priority of every employee, and it is much easier to do than you may think. If you’re in need of a new job at a company who prioritizes a safety culture, contact the experienced recruiters at The Reserves Network today. For more advice on staying safe on the job, subscribe to our blog today.