In some jobs, the consequences of unsafe behavior aren’t very severe. A paper cut is a very different injury from an electrical burn. Electricity is so dangerous that many old-timers like to tell trainees, “There’s no such thing as a careless old electrician.” A careless electrician either won’t live long enough to be old, or they won’t be able to hold a job well enough to remain in that career into later years.
A person who works in an unsafe manner takes other shortcuts on the job. This person turns in lower-quality work for the same reason he commits unsafe acts: carelessness. This fact has some value in how you think about dealing with that person. Of more importance, however, is the fact this person’s behavior puts others at risk. This fact gives you direct authority to intervene, no matter what your position in the company.
How you intervene is critical. The goal isn’t to shame the person but to influence them to correct their behavior.
Some tips:
- Be polite and respectful.
- Don’t lecture.
- Be clear and stay on message.
- Deflect any arguing by saying your concern is for safety, not seeing who is right.
One method:
- Ask the person to stop what he is doing so you can talk for a minute.
- Ask him to tell you how he might do (whatever he was doing) more safely.
- Thank him for having that discussion.
If the company’s safety culture is even moderately strong (and the other person has a good work ethic) the intervention will be accepted in the spirit intended. The result should be an increased safety awareness on this person’s part, along with safer behavior.
But what if it isn’t? For example: You’ve seen this person stand on the top step of the ladder twice now, and each time you have asked him to come down from the ladder. You have then asked him how he might more safely reach the item he was working on. Here he is, back up there a third time.
It’s time to report this worker to your supervisor. Tell the supervisor about your previous interactions with them over this issue. In some people’s minds, reporting a coworker to a supervisor is seen as “tattling” and “being nosey.” This flips the guilt around from the safety violator to the person who is being a responsible adult on the job.
And it allows unsafe behavior to be a game of “catch me if you can.” This goes back to a mentality that safety isn’t so much about behaving safely as it is about behaving safely when the supervisor is looking. That mentality has resulted in many lost fingers, lost eyes, and lost lives. This worker’s carelessness is going to get somebody hurt or killed — and it might not be them.
