Abstract
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has found that more than 2.7 million people die annually due to workplace Health & Safety (H&S) illnesses and injuries. In Canada the total economic cost of injuries and fatalities was $29.4 billion (2021) and 253, 397 critical injuries and 924 workplace fatalities were reported between 2016 and 2020. H&S leadership is evolving into an invaluable role for many organizations, the International SOS Foundation has found that more than 50% of their survey respondents anticipate that Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) will be a board level or C-Suite role by 2030.
Leadership capability sits at the heart of H&S culture transformation. Leaders need to take ownership of an organization’s H&S culture and successfully integrate H&S as part of the business strategy. H&S Leadership today has a renewed focus on innovation, sustainability, and the health and well-being of all workers. This requires leaders to be fully engaged and drive consistency in identifying and managing risks with a conscious focus on continuous improvement and innovation.
“Engaging workers as problem identifiers and not as problem makers changes everything.” Todd Conkllin
The people within an organization can help to drive safety performance. H&S Leaders can improve H&S performance by displaying consistent support, collaborating with employees on H&S issues, and by coaching their teams to achieve high H&S performance. This should be supported by a regular and consistent display of sincere, visible, and genuine commitment to workers' welfare and the provision of sufficient resources. Engaged workers are invested employees, and they will look out for each other and for the company’s best interests. Workforce engagement also shows consideration and care, which can create a team atmosphere, and provide a positive solution to H&S concerns.
When there is an executive presence in the field combined with a well-informed and engaged workforce, workers can actively participate in the hazard identification and reporting process. They can situationally approach and engage others to provide positive and constructive feedback on safe or at-risk behaviours. When people are at the centre of H&S culture transformation, workers feel an increased sense of autonomy and empowerment to take responsibility of their health and safety.
There is a need to equip leaders and the workforce with H&S knowledge, skills, flexibility, and the ability to be resilient to sustain in an evolving environment. Transformational H&S leadership can drive effective H&S practices and an improved H&S culture for an organization. This can lead to improving safety performance through a shared language, trust, understanding and processes around proactively managing and mitigating H&S risks. This promotes a positive H&S culture and allows an organization to sustain that culture through the evolving needs of the H&S field. All of this is driven by transformational H&S leadership. Transformational H&S leaders paired with a strong H&S culture will create a strategic shift for H&S professionals, in their approach to H&S and their role in the organization from compliance driven to a coaching mindset.