Workplace Safety Tips - Attitude and Behavior the Keys to Improve Safety
by:
Annette Estes
Safety is about company policies and procedures. It's even more about people; more specifically, your employees' natural behavioral style and safety attitude at work.
Training plays an important role in workplace safety. But who your workers are, not just what they do, may be even more significant according to a 1993 study conducted by
Behavioral-Values Research Associates.
SAFETY STUDIES
The research was conducted on railway maintenance workers. Participants were given four assessments that measured their knowledge of safety rules, their pictorial and mechanical reasoning abilities, and their behavior and attitude. The study shows the only significant differences between two groups of workers (injured vs. non-injured) were in their behavioral styles and attitudes/values.
The research validates that when companies implement a pre-hiring employee assessment selection system, four things occur. These companies:
• Reduce accident costs and risk
• Reduce worker's comp claims
• Reduce employee turnover
• Improve profitability
By utilizing this system when hiring drivers, G & P Trucking in South Carolina reduced accident costs and cut its accident rate in half over five years. G & P President, Clifton Parker says, "We are doing a better job during the hiring process. The behavioral testing has given us insight on the applicants' true beliefs and actions rather than finding out later. The bottom line is that it has helped us lower accident cost."
Common sense tells us that people who are naturally careful and cautious are going to cause fewer accidents than those who are impatient and short-tempered by nature. The BVRA research concluded the safest workers are those who are steady and cautious and who genuinely put others' well being above their own.
The safety studies found workers with the best safety records are those who are
high in the "S" and "C" behavioral styles and low in the "D" factor. They are also high in the Social value.
DISC BEHAVIOR, VALUES, AND SAFETY
In 1928, Harvard psychologist William Moulton Marston defined the four DISC behavior styles we all have. Around the same time, psychologist Eduard Spranger published his studies of six values that determine our motivation attitude. Target Training International in Scottsdale, AZ, continued their research and produced the first computer-generated attitude and behavior DISC assessment that companies use today to hire, develop, and retain superior performers. This was the assessment used in the BVRA research project.
The four behavioral styles are:
• D-Dominant
• I-Influencing
• S-Steady
• C-Cautious
Those high in the "D" factor want control, they are quick to anger, and become impatient easily. They are the ones most likely to cause accidents.
Those high in the "I" behavioral factor are extroverted and people oriented; they talk a lot and like attention. The research found no significant difference in the "I" factor between the injured and non-injured workers.
People high in the "S" factor are steady and patient, they move slowly, and have a strong focus on their team's success. Safety and security are of utmost importance to them.
Those high in the "C" factor are extremely cautious and detail-oriented, and adamantly
follow rules set by others.
So, it's understandable that workers high in both the "S" and "C" factors and low in the "D" style will have or cause fewer accidents.
It's also significant that research shows those high in the Social value are the safest workers because they selflessly put others' needs above their own. It's also important that they rank low in the Individualistic Value. Even more than those with Core
"D" behavioral styles, people high in this value are passionate about having power and control over situations and other people.
Simply put, the worker you want to hire when safety is crucial is one who is high in the "S" and "C" factors, low in the "D" factor, high in the Social value, and low in the
Individualistic attitude.
Understanding each of your employee's innate behavior and attitude is the key to improving safety in the workplace.
About the Author:
Get workplace safety tips by subscribing to our free
safety newsletters. Annette Estes is a Certified Professional Behavioral and Values Analyst and veteran safety consultant, trainer, and coach. Order her eBook,
Safety RULES!
©2009 Annette Estes
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