The Illusion of Being Invulnerable May Harm Employees at Work
DES PLAINES, Ill., April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- No matter how many safety training courses emphasis how dangerous it may be to work with electricity, chemicals or cargo unless proper safety protocols are followed, there is always a percentage of employees who believe they aren't vulnerable to such risks -- until it's too late.
Those types of perceptions need to be changed before injuries or fatalities prove them wrong, say authors Anna Floyd and H. Landis Floyd II in the April issue of ASSE's Professional Safety titled, "The Value of Vulnerability." Safety professionals must ensure their training courses go beyond statistics in conveying how to properly manage risk.
"Safety training…without a focus on risk susceptibility and severity is a disservice to workers," the authors write. "A worker's perception that s/he has a low likelihood of suffering a nonfatal electrical burn is accurate, yet among those who are involved in such an electrical incident, their likelihood of being killed is high. This discrepancy raises an important point about how people conceptualize risk."
Whatever beliefs employees may have about their own vulnerability, the authors encourage safety professionals to incorporate stories in their training sessions as a way to personalize potentially dangerous situations to them.
"Stories about people affected by incidents that include photos, names and references to personable characteristics will persuade much more than simply presenting statistics," the article states. "The more a worker can relate to a story's character, the more likely s/he is to be transported and affected by that story, and the more likely s/he will be to think 'that could be me.'"
Read this article at: http://www.asse.org/professionalsafety/pastissues/059/03/040_046_F1Gun_0314.pdf
For more than 50 years, ASSE's Professional Safety journal has been sharing the latest technical knowledge in SH&E—information that is constantly being developed through research and on-the-job experience. Each issue delivers practical guidance, techniques and solutions to help SH&E professionals identify hazards, protect people, prevent injuries, improve work environments and educate management that investing in safety is a sound business strategy. For more information please visit http://www.asse.org/professionalsafety.
Founded in 1911, the Des Plaines-based ASSE is the oldest professional safety organization and is committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Its more than 35,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members lead, manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries, government, labor, health care and education. For more information please go to www.asse.org.
SOURCE American Society of Safety Engineers
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