Here is the Executive Summary for a new report on research sponsored by MySafetySign. It indicates that worker attitudes, limited budgets and lack of understanding of risks are three major barriers to implementing health and safety practices in the workplace.
To read the complete report, please click here.
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Despite commitment of senior management and very positive view of health and safety by both the management and regular members of staff, employees’ attitudes are seen as a primary obstacle to putting health and safety practices into effect.
This is the key finding of Health and Safety Industry Survey 2014, carried out by MySafetySign to gain insight into key factors driving health and safety practices in the workplace and main barriers that health and safety professionals face within their organizations.
The survey has also revealed that the main “drivers” of health and safety in U.S. businesses are the commitment of their top management, and safety culture, both mentioned by more than half of the respondents in the survey.
Similarly, 96% of organizations whose representatives took part in our study have at least one way to demonstrate their commitment to health and safety. The most popular methods are through training and regular staff meetings, practiced at 75% and 62% of organizations respectively. Less popular ways included induction and incentive programs for employees with only 25% and 21% of organizations employing these practices for the benefit of health and safety in the workplace.
Despite these efforts, certain health and safety concerns are not given enough consideration, according to health and safety professionals we surveyed. Most notably, 24% mention stress and 20% mention overworking as the main concerns that are overlooked. These two risks were reported in a range of industries, such as manufacturing and health services, where physical risks might seem more prominent. It is important to bear in mind that more immediate, typical concerns are not necessarily the ones that get overlooked.
Whereas limited budgets are mentioned as one of the key barriers in the way of putting health and safety practices into place, over 40% of companies that have a health and safety department have expanded it in the past three years. In addition, 34% of companies whose health and safety professionals took part in our survey give 10 or more training sessions per year to their staff, with another 27% stating that their staff gets between three and nine sessions annually.
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To read the complete report, please click here.