Safety as a Path and Promise

Many Factors Shape Workplace Exposure to Injury

Exposure to injury in the workplace is influenced by many elements. Historically, worker training, safety systems, and compliance with stated procedures have been identified as main causes of injury. However, comprehensive analysis reveals that exposure is determined not only by these traditional factors, but also by far-reaching, previously hard to identify components. Most specifically, organizational culture has emerged as a leading, predictive indicator of safety performance, and data shows that culture is directly influenced by both organizational leadership and employee engagement. As a result, safety initiatives that align organizational levels and systems have consistently stronger results and sustainability.

The Emerging Role of Safety

In leading organizations, safety is not seen as an activity apart from other performance areas — it is regarded as a sign of overall organizational health. Safety is a unique performance outcome in that employees from every organizational level, and the organizational as a whole, strongly benefit from safe working environments. Because of this, strong safety performance can generate employee engagement in ways no other performance outcome can, and yields additional benefits including improved employee morale and retention, improved leader-member relationships, consistent behavioral reliability, and widespread organizational citizenship.