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Safety Systems

By Brie DeLisi Many of us are in the process of shifting back into office environments or considering the appropriate next steps for a safe return to the office. Fortunately, there are a number of steps that can be taken for the physical work environment to ensure employees are kept as safe and healthy as possible. The purpose of these physical work environment adjustments is to ensure employees can be properly distanced to avoid COVID exposures the air and that shared resources limit surface exposures. Considerations should include employee distancing, space resourcefulness, adding structures, air ventilation, shared resources and sanitation. Employee Distancing Ideally,

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By Madison Hanscom, Ph.D.It is the responsibility of leaders to demonstrate how to act during times of uncertainty. At its core, walking the talk involves leaders acting in ways that align with their stated values and the stated values of the company. When a leader practices what they preach, this builds trust among followers, which is the belief that leaders will act in their best interest. This in turn helps create improved safety culture, morale, and safety outcomes. Although employees always look to leaders as role models, this is particularly important during times of crisis. During difficult moments like the

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By Kelly Hamilton, Madison Hanscom, & Josh Williams It's not uncommon for leaders – who are pulled in many directions at once – to take shortcuts when it comes to safety. This can be detrimental, however, to safety culture and employees’ safety behaviors. In fact, research has shown that when employees perceive their leaders are not acting in ways that align with the company’s stated safety values, it leads to a decrease in safety compliance, a decrease in prioritization of avoiding accidents, and an increase in injuries.  Leaders who effectively “walk the talk” demonstrate to employees that their safety is the main

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By Brie DeLisi Many companies are finding themselves making unexpected difficult decisions around their state of business and employee safety. Do I continue operations and potentially expose my employees to COVID-19? Do I shut down operations and risk going out of business? What other options do I have? Some of these decisions feel like a Catch-22 and no situation has an ideal result. Writing a list of pros vs cons may be helpful, but the main focus should be on long-term consequences. Many of us are concerned about short-term impacts, but reframing to long-term may make it more straightforward. Example Situation: I have a

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By Eric Johnson As calls for distancing continue to increase in both social environments and working environments, social behaviors can adapt relatively quickly to increasing distance, but work environments can pose challenges. The cases of the latter can involve situations that require the presence of employees in a mandatory way and/or in a teamwork environment. In the case of construction, we look at several types of organizations in the construction industry and how the COVID-19 recommended social distancing will affect both the organization and the business. Software-Based Firms Software-based firms have the best opportunities for employee remote work. Key drivers for these organizations

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By Josh Williams, Ph.D. Organizational leaders are understandably frustrated sometimes when employees are injured on the job. Of course, their primary concern is the well-being of the affected individual. However, they may also feel like they have policies in place which, if followed, would have prevented the incident. This leads to a common occurrence where an injury is almost immediately followed by a new rule or blanket policy that applies to everyone. Sometimes these policies make great sense as people were unaware of a risk. It may even save a life. Too often, however, these policies are applied poorly and don’t

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