Took a few weeks off publishing – last month I moved to Montreal, went on a retreat with the Summer of Protocols researchers, and celebrated my grandpa’s 90th birthday.
At the same time, I’ve been wrapping up my research project on safety protocols.
Perhaps my biggest finding is that unions, leaders, and OHS professionals are all barking up the wrong tree. Safety is certainly important and it is a “big” issue. But workers are at a 3x greater risk of dying from COPD, stroke, or heart disease than of dying from a safety incident.
But there’s an elephant in the room. We hold individuals accountable for their long-term health. Not their employers. Is this fair? I don’t have an answer to that question. But facts don’t care about feelings. The bottom line is:
For every conversation about workplace safety, preventing accidents, and managing hazards, there should be three conversations about making the workplace healthier.
The same goes for safety budgets. The same goes for skill sets. Forward-looking organizations need to divest in health. Safety investments suffer from steeply diminishing returns. Yet leaders are pressured to continue investing. The reasons are clear. It looks good, it’s hard to disagree with, and the outcomes are nearly impossible to measure. A virtuous splurge.
That is a problem in its own right. I’m working on a diagnostic that will help determine – and, more importantly, illustrate – if organizations are overspending on safety. Some are, some aren’t. However, it’s a sure thing that 99% of organizations are underinvesting in worker health.
There will be a series of posters coming out soon, as part of Summer of Protocols. It will be on practical workplace health protocols. Think of it as a toolkit for improving worker health. There are some excellent protocols for workers looking to take things into their own hands. And there are tools for cutting-edge HR professionals, safety experts, and supervisors who want to see big changes. Stay tuned for all that.
