{"id":875,"date":"2021-09-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/compliance-signs.local\/rewarding-employees-for-safety\/"},"modified":"2022-07-28T10:45:15","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T14:45:15","slug":"rewarding-employees-for-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.compliancesigns.com\/blog\/rewarding-employees-for-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Rewarding Your Employees for Safety (The Right Way)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You can assess your safety risks, put together an action plan and create a program that promotes safety moving forward for your company and that\u2019s great! But, without buy-in from the employees who need to follow your safety program, it doesn\u2019t stand a chance. So, what do you do when you need to get your employees excited for (or at least on-board with) your safety program? You give them some incentive!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s where it gets a little tricky. Incentivizing safety programs by rewarding employees for safety can create problems you might not expect. That doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t do it, it just means you have to do it right. Keep reading to see what we mean.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Problem with Safety Incentive Programs<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While it may seem like a no-brainer to offer your employees incentives for reaching goals like days without a reportable accident or rewarding the department with the fewest accidents, motivators like this tend to backfire. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine a company that has created a safety incentive program that includes a $500 bonus for each employee if the company reaches 100 accident-free days. One day, a worker falls from a ladder as one of the lower rungs breaks. He lands hard and sprains his ankle. What should he do? Should he report the incident? If he does, each of his coworkers will miss out on a nice bonus check. Chances are he will try to tough it out and act like nothing happened so he doesn\u2019t lose out on the money or incur the wrath of his coworkers. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of incentivizing workers to work safely, many incentive programs put pressure on employees to avoid accidents. Accidents may still occur. What happens is<\/span> employees stop reporting accidents<\/span><\/i> for fear of losing out on a bonus or other benefit. The peer pressure that can come from coworkers only adds to the likelihood that an incident will get covered up rather than properly reported.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, OSHA issued a memo addressing this issue. The memo states that \u201cSection 11(c) of the OSH Act prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee because the employee reports an injury or illness.\u201d It lists several ways this can occur and specifically calls out \u201cprograms that unintentionally or intentionally provide employees an incentive to not report injuries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memo from OSHA<\/a> isn\u2019t a ban on all incentive programs for safety, but instead, gives some tips on better ways to motivate your personnel.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety Incentive Programs That Work<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instead of building a safety incentive program that discourages accidents, and possibly the reporting of accidents, employers should focus on rewarding employees for positive safety behaviors. Here are a few ideas:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Rewarding employees who suggest new ways to improve health and safety<\/span><\/li>
  2. Encouraging workers to join health and safety committees by offering free t-shirts or other perks<\/span><\/li>
  3. Bringing in free food or other rewards for safety training sessions to encourage participation<\/span><\/li>
  4. Conducting random inspections and rewarding employees who consistently practice safe behavior like implementing a <\/span>lockout tagout system<\/span><\/a> or simply using their safety equipment<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The key is to find ways to actively encourage employee participation in your safety program. Any reward or incentive that could potentially lead to intentional failure to report an injury is a problem. Unreported incidents can lead to even more accidents because employers can\u2019t fix problems they don\u2019t know exist. It creates a false sense of safety while actually increasing the risk for employees.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As you consider offering incentives to help motivate your team, consider the cost savings of reducing or eliminating accidents in your facility. Make rewarding employees for safety an integral part of your safety program<\/a>. It\u2019s a solid investment in your company and the people who make it run every day.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Additional Resources:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n