Abstract
Despite remarkable advances in employee protection, the mining and metals sector still has work to do to achieve the highest levels of occupational safety and health. Zero Harm initiatives to reduce injuries, though valuable, will not enable the industry to reach those heights. A new approach is needed, one that engages employees in actively safeguarding themselves and their colleagues. That engagement can be grown through building a culture of care in which all employees and contractors feel valued and psychologically safe to express themselves. A culture of care is fundamentally one of trust and respect in which everyone’s opinion matters and they feel confident to express themselves and to speak up if they see unsafe conditions or if they have personal issues that could affect their work.Organisations that give employees that confidence and security stand to reap the rewards, not just in elevated safety performance but in increased workforce commitment and productivity, resilience and sustainability. A culture change program is not a single intervention, it will include discrete initiatives to grow the perception of trust and care but also demands revision of many policies and procedures to fulfil a care framework linked to the company’s values. The program must be founded on excellent health, safety and welfare standards, including mental health provision, so that messages about care are not undermined by working conditions or lack of support. A culture of care program must be carefully planned with cross-functional collaboration and backed up by training for everyone affected. Once launched the culture change needs constant reinforcement, built into daily interactions throughout the organisation. Strong leadership at all levels is key to developing and maintaining the culture of care, whether it is senior executives demonstrating authentic commitment to the transparency and supportive and consultative leadership they want to see throughout the company, or frontline supervisors promoting open dialogue and challenge in their teams. Encouraging employees and contractors to model the behaviours that support a caring culture is key, through example and reward. There are likely to be barriers to creating a more inclusive and trusting culture. These can be born of skepticism among employees that the company is truly committed to change and to listening to their views. Some employees may be reluctant to disclose personal issues or feelings and leaders may feel unwilling or under-equipped to shift to a more inclusive management style. Overcoming these obstacles is down to a combination of thorough training and support at all levels, persistence in embedding the culture change and allowing local variation to achieve the aims of a global framework. Judging the depth and impact of the culture of care will depend on a mixture of direct metrics measuring perception of the culture from employee surveys, focus groups and appraisal data, and indirect ones such as incident and absence rates, employee turnover and hazard reporting levels, all of which should be influenced positively by the culture change.