Leading by Example: The Role of Leadership in Workplace Safety
It starts at the top – and health and safety is no exception.
Whether you’re an employer, manager, or part of the executive team, you help to set the tone in your workplace by modelling the importance of physical and psychological health and safety and influencing the organizational culture.
Here are a few ways to evaluate your leadership team’s commitment to health and safety:
- Review your current health and safety policy. It should address both physical and psychological health and safety, and clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of employers, managers, supervisors, and workers to maintain a positive environment for everyone.
- Encourage engagement by senior management, managers, supervisors, the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC), and workers. The more people in a workplace who contribute to health and safety, the more successful your health and safety program will be.
- Make sure your business dedicates enough resources to health and safety. Whether creating a JHSC, encouraging consultation and effective participation, providing worker education or training, showing and upholding civility and respect or investing in new PPE, you can show your commitment to health and safety by resourcing for it effectively.
- Equip your management team with the skills and training to support and promote physical and psychological health and safety, provide visible support and model appropriate behaviour
- Observe the level of commitment by senior management, including your business’s CEO or the most senior person, toward health and safety. Again, it starts at the top – so if your main leader champions health and safety and supports the vision for a psychologically healthy and safe workplace, everyone else will, too!
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