How can organizations motivate employees to promote safety and health in the workplace?

Answer:
Creating a safe work environment begins with setting up a safety incentive program. Safety incentives motivate workers to comply with workplace safety guidelines because they provide tangible rewards as employees meet specific goals on the jobsite and in the workplace. However, some professionals believe that poorly selected tangible incentives encourage under-reporting of injuries, and suggest that safety should be seen as a basic, expected part of each job.

Most companies will have general safety goals for all employees and then specific goals for safety compliance for each job position. As the National Federation of Independent Business reports, developing site-specific safety goals to address anticipated hazards can help a company improve safe work performance, with better efficiency and productivity; lower direct and indirect costs; provide access to more bid opportunities; better control the safety of subcontractors; and improve ability to keep the project on schedule.

In order to set up workplace safety goals of improvement, the first place to start is to identify the different hazards that exist at every location managed by the company. One tip is to incorporate workers into this process as many times they know where hazards exist and can provide insight into how to change procedure to avoid injury while still being able to get the job done. In addition, employees can help to create MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) booklets and posters to keep at workstations. Involving employees will make them feel more invested in the safety program and will help to solidify your safety culture.

Once the safety incentive program is established usually a safety committee is created to evaluate the safety incentive program in regular intervals. The safety program should be evaluated on at least a quarterly basis by safety program administrators or the safety committee. The members of the workplace safety committee are often given additional safety points or allowed to select gifts from higher priced collections as an added reward for being a committee member.

Although the safety committee members may have a greater understanding of the safety program, all employees need to be empowered and informed when it comes to safety.

Safety awareness in the workplace continues to be a major objective of employers because of both the tangible costs of on-the-job accidents or fatalities and the human or intangible factors.

First answer by AwardsNetwork. Last edit by Pzavon. Contributor trust: 759 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 3 [recommend question].