Workers can often be blamed for their injuries on the job. Employers may assume that they have been careless or haven’t followed safety protocols. Yet, according to a new study by the University of Georgia, it turns out that upper-level management may have much more influence on workplace safety and the rate of workplace accidents.
The study – published this month in the Journal of Safety Research – found that when management fostered the perception of a positive safety climate among employees, the number of workplace injuries went down 32 percent. Day-to-day practices were more influential than written safety protocols. See: North Carolina Workers Compensation Lawyers
When employees felt that a company ran smoothly and that there were minimal constraints on their performance, the injury rate dropped as much as 38 percent, the study found.
“Injury is a failure of management,” said study co-author Dave DeJoy, a professor of health promotion and behavior at UGA. “Organizations who blame individuals for injuries do not create a positive safety climate.”
