Creating a culture of psychological health and safety

Organizational culture is made up by the attitudes, values and beliefs that guide workplace behaviours and influence the work environment on a daily basis, and that affect the mental and physical well-being of employees. It is often regarded as “the way we do things around here.”

Safety culture is part of a company’s overall organizational culture, as well as a reflection of it. It is required to meaningfully reduce workplace injuries and illnesses, and sustain prevention efforts. It influences how workplace safety and health is prioritized, and decisions and actions around it are taken.

A company that exhibits a strong safety culture will have a robust and effective safety and health program, and psychological health and safety management system. Establishing and maintaining a strong safety culture should be an important goal for all Manitobans and all workplaces.

Use the following information to kick-start your next committee meeting:

1. What is safety culture?

Safety culture is a set of shared values and beliefs we have regarding workplace safety and health. A strong safety culture exists when these shared values and beliefs about workplace safety and health influence action and drive practices for preventing workplace injuries and illnesses. Organizations with a strong safety culture believe that safety and health is a priority, leaders drive improvement and workers are an organization’s most valuable resource. Employees in organizations with a strong safety culture know that injuries and illnesses can be prevented, and they recognize that we all have a role to play in building safe workplaces.

There are six interrelated dimensions that characterize workplaces with a strong safety culture:

• Safety and health hazards and concerns are addressed – Hazards potentially affecting safety and health are promptly identified, fully evaluated and quickly addressed or corrected. Included are worker concerns about hazards.
• Leaders demonstrate a commitment to safety and health – Safety and health starts at the top and relies on organizational leaders who demonstrate a commitment to safety values through their actions. This includes allocating resources, communicating and making decisions in a way that indicates safety and health is prioritized equally with production and quality.
• Trust and respect permeate the work environment – Communication is open and reflects an environment in which trust, fairness and respect matter in daily interactions, and especially in resolving conflicts and solving problems.
• Everyone in the organization is held accountable for safety and health – All people are responsible and committed to safety and health within the organization. Roles and responsibilities are assigned and understood, and individuals in the workplace feel both personally accountable and committed to their own safety and health and that of their peers.
• The work environment is inclusive – All workers matter. There is a commitment to reach out to all workers to participate and be involved in safety and health, and to value the input of all workers.
• Continuous learning is a hallmark of the organization – Opportunities to learn about new or improved ways to ensure safety and health are sought out and implemented.

A strong safety culture is typically present when all six of these dimensions are present. Together, they represent how values and beliefs are presented in the workplace.

2. What is psychological health and safety?

Psychological health and safety is the consideration of psychosocial factors the workplace has control over and that can cause harm, or conversely, can promote positive workplace mental health. Psychological hazards, like other hazards (physical, musculoskeletal, biological and chemical) need to be identified, eliminated and controlled.

3. Can you comment on the intersection of safety culture and psychological health and safety?

Psychological health and safety and a strong safety culture go hand in hand. Your workplace must exhibit a strong safety culture for any safety and health program to be effective. This includes the psychological health and safety management system. The CSA standard provides a road map to building your psychological health and safety management system.

4. How are the six dimensions of culture connected to the 13 psychosocial factors?

There are six interrelated dimensions that characterize workplaces with a strong safety culture. These six dimensions strongly relate to the CSA standard’s 13 psychosocial factors.