How Leadership and Workplace Safety Correlate

You can implement communication and safety strategies and technology, but if the people are not effectively using them, their purpose can be undermined. Here, we are going to look at how effective leadership is necessary for cementing workplace safety standards, through both effective communication and the implementation of tools like smart manufacturing communication systems.

The Role of the Decision-Makers

Leaders are, by definition, those who set the direction of the workplace, meaning that they make the majority of decisions that impact their workers. As such, strong correlations have been found between workplace safety and how much focus the leaders put on it. As such, stakeholders and leaders should be made aware of safety matters, as well as involved and invested in the management of safety processes.

Failing to understand the workplace realities and risks associated with them can result in leaders who implement poorly thought through and dangerous policies, either failing to address the major workplace safety concerns, or addressing them in an ineffective and counterproductive way. In order to make sure that leaders address safety concerns correctly, they must be more involved with the regular management of risks.

How Leaders Can Tip the Scales

It’s not just the active decision making of leaders that can influence how workplace safety is handled in the workplace. There are ways to passively undermine or support the work of safety officers, protocols, and standards in the workplace, as well. 

For instance, if a leader gives an order that runs contrary to a safety protocol, it can lead to not only the immediate endangerment of an employee, but also the undermining of more than that single safety protocol, affecting worker attitude to workplace safety much more widely.

Similarly, failing to understand how employees interface with safety concerns is a risk, too. If you make it part of your safety protocol that employees must report safety concerns that they are personally involved with to a direct superior or assigned safety officer, the leaders can get a better idea of what kinds of hazards the workers deal with.

Establishing the Right Standards

Leaders play the biggest role in controlling how much investment goes into workplace safety, and how much of a focus is placed on implementing any solutions effectively. For instance, manufacturing communication systems can help implement emergency notifications and other key methods of reacting to and mitigating emergencies that employees could rely on. 

However, this is only likely to happen if the leadership invests in the installation and training necessary to make it a core tool for the workforce. Without that leadership, these technologies are more likely to go unused than not. Leaders must ensure that there is an emphasis on the systemization of safety solutions.

Leaders Must Take More Responsibility in Establishing a Safe Workplace Culture

Your team does have a large role to play when it comes to establishing effective workplace safety. However, it is your leadership, in setting and maintaining safety standards, adopting new technologies, and enforcing the rules, that sets the precedent for safer protocol. You cannot underestimate the impact of the leaders in regards to implementing a healthy culture of safety.