4 Ways Companies Are Proactively Addressing Workplace Safety
Across all industries, companies have become more proactive in addressing and reducing workplace injuries and building a culture of wellness. The results of these efforts have led to a continued drop in both fatal and nonfatal workplace injuries (though, unfortunately, illnesses quadrupled from 2019 to 2020 with the spread of COVID-19).
For C-level executives at organizations and insurance companies, this begs the question: what types of safety programs are companies implementing—and how are they keeping their employees engaged in these initiatives? Here are a few examples of companies that are proactive about addressing and reducing workplace injuries and fatalities.
1. Connecting Safety Goals to Financial Incentives
David Michaels served as OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor from 2009 until 2017, making him the longest-serving in the organization’s history. In an article for the Harvard Business Review, Michaels discussed how LyondellBasell, one of the world’s largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies, CEO Jim Gallogly sent a clear message about the company’s new emphasis on safety.
“LyondellBasell has a policy that makes it clear that safety is no less important than profits,” Michaels wrote. “No matter how low the OSHA recordable injury rate, if there is a serious incident—a fire, a chemical release, a worker is seriously hurt—no manager gets a bonus.”
Michaels says that this is consistent with what he’s seen at the safest and most successful companies that he has evaluated. He also says that while companies such as LyondellBasell are setting a shining example, too many others still prioritize production over safety, which can ultimately affect the bottom line.
2. Creating a Company-Wide Commitment to Daily Stretching
Nicole Chaudet is the Executive Director of Product Execution for HealthFitness, a consultancy that works with large organizations to develop injury prevention programs. She recently wrote about her work with the med-tech giant Boston Scientific, which hoped to reduce the number of ergonomic injuries in its facility. The solution was a surprisingly sophisticated and creative ergonomic stretching program.
Chaudet said there were two keys to making this stretching program a success. First, everyone involved in the project knew that it needed to be fun to drive engagement. For Boston Scientific, that meant announcing room-wide stretch breaks by playing Darth Vader’s Imperial March. More importantly, this announcement was for everyone at the company, including management and executive-level employees. Chaudet added, “When everyone participates, everyone wins and the business benefits.”
3. Addressing Employees’ Mental Health
As employee burnout and stress is at an all-time high and The Great Resignation continues, companies are finding creative ways to support the mental health of employees. As this CNBC article reports, PwC offers a vacation bonus to every employee who takes a full week of vacation at a time, up to once per quarter, and builds wellness objectives into their performance goals. Zendesk, in partnership with Modern Health, now offers mental health coaching, therapy and videos and reported 25% global usage among employees within the first week. Calm, the meditation app provider, offers employees a monthly stipend to be used on wellness services as well as phone, internet and home office reimbursements. However, as Kelly Greenwood and Julia Anas write in this Harvard Business Review article, “Employees need and expect sustainable and mentally healthy workplaces, which requires taking on the real work of culture change. It’s not enough to simply offer the latest apps or employ euphemisms like ‘well-being’ or ‘mental fitness.’ Employers must connect what they say to what they actually do.” This is another critical way companies can keep employees safe in and out of the workplace.
4. Safety as a Core Value
In 2021, EHS Today cited Yonkers Contracting Company as one of the safest companies in America. As Joe Corvello, Corporate Director of Safety, tells the publication, “A successful project is more than a punch list of completed tasks and objectives. The manner in which these goals are accomplished is of equal importance. Protecting the well-being of workers, the general public and the environment, in addition to accomplishing the required tasks, is the hallmark of a truly successful project. Safety is a core value, not a priority, because priorities change based on business needs.”
For Yonkers Contracting Company, “safety as a value” translates to daily safety briefings. Employees are also encouraged to report unsafe activity without fear of retaliation and even have an app on their phones to report safety concerns anonymously.
How Is Your Organization Keeping Employees Safe?
Whether you work for an organization looking for better ways to support your employees or an insurance carrier looking to offer your clients proactive workplace safety strategies, we recommend creating programs that address the specific injuries your employees most often face. In addition to helping our clients navigate the Workers Comp’ landscape and manage claims after an injury occurs, we also offer consulting services focused on prevention. Contact us here to learn more.