How do you really create workplace safety awareness?
Usually, employee engagement that tries to build Health and Safety awareness can be decimated with three simple statements:
- WHMIS,
- First Aid,
- H&S policy.
Let’s face it! Health and Safety is not exciting and stimulating for most employees. In fact, many of Health and Safety programs and policies are downright boring. In light of this, a UK company realized that something drastic needed to be done to raise safety awareness in the workplace with some ingenious techniques. Their approach was drastic and silly but it seems to be effective.
Viking Direct knew that their employees were not reading their Health and Safety manuals so they tried a new approach: “To remedy this, we decided to have some fun, and test whether our employees read all of the way through the new guidelines, by including some very questionable emergency situation advice… The advice was impossible, improbable, or just plain terrible; and the scenarios ranged from what to do when the floor inexplicably becomes lava, to using the ink of red liquid ink pens to escape a horde of zombies.”
Click here to read about the Viking Direct safety awareness program and illustrations.
This approach raises an interesting legal and ethical safety thought, does using humor to increase health and safety awareness devalue the seriousness of the program in the work place?
I would love to spend some time in deep thought over this question, but I think four horsemen have just arrived at my office door.
Discussion Questions:
- The VP of HR has asked you to raise awareness about H&S in the workplace with the goal to reduce slip and fall type injuries and would like to see a draft presentation in a week. What will you suggest?
- Would you use humor in your safety awareness program? Why or Why not?