OPINION
07
What should safety look like, post-pandemic?
Post-coronavirus, the safety profession will have to become just that: a profession – and not a mixed bag of quasi-related tasks with no fixed deadlines and no expectation of success, writes Phil La Duke
I
understand the seriousness of COVID-19, and if you’re like me you’re more than a little sick and tired of hearing about it. But what happens to the world of safety next? I am by no means a prognosticator and I don’t tend towards the optimistic end of the spectrum, but I think the Great Plague has most organisations – from the smallest “mum-and-dad” shops to the mightiest global conglomerates and even governments – to re-examine their organisational structures and earnestly look for foundational opportunities to change. I have no clue what life holds in store for the world of safety, but I can assure you of this: safety will never be the same. We shouldn’t fear the change; safety has needed a high-powered enema for a decade. Petty little snake oil salespeople have argued at conferences, in online forums and in the press, causing safety personnel such intellectual constipation that it has caused the C+ executives and other operations leaders to wonder whether or not safety is a necessary evil or an organisational affliction. The world is screaming for change, and it is
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screaming loudest at the Safety Function. So what follows is not what I think will happen, but what should happen.
Rebranding of safety The current safety brand is so badly tarnished that I know a score of people who won’t even refer to the people as “professionals” for good reasons that are beyond the scope of this missive. We need to think bigger. Safety needs to be a major component of business continuity, and to that end, it should include: • Worker resilience • Worker wellness • Occupational illness prevention • Hazard and risk management • Ergonomics • Competency assurance • Employee engagement • Talent retention • Absenteeism. Of course, some companies have discrete activities completely removed from each other and reporting up through different departments, but that has to change.
Worker resilience Rick Hanson, Ph.D, author of the book Resilient: How to grow an unshakable core of calm, strength, and happiness, defines resilience as a person’s ability to bounce back after a trauma or tragedy. An effective resiliency program ministers to the workers’ mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing. This may sound a little soft-headed, but strong worker resilience positively correlates to everything else listed above. Resilient workers have stronger immune systems than their less-resilient co-workers so they miss work because of illnesses less frequently and recover faster, so return to work more quickly. Building resilience should be the number one priority in an organisation that wants to survive the next global crisis. Organisations that are serious about building resilience will have classes in yoga and meditation, and quiet rooms where workers can nap or sit in silent reflection. We will see a resurgence in weight rooms and fitness centres to keep workers physically fit. Walking trails will become part of the natural landscape of most forward-thinking
JUNE 2020 | OHS PROFESSIONAL
