What is a Safe Environment in THE Workplace?
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
You may think this blog is not for you.
If you work in an office environment, you might easily think workplace safety pertains solely to physical safety; your office has no heavy machinery, forklifts, or clearly contagious employees, so it must be safe, right?
Not necessarily.
It is a leader’s responsibility to create and maintain an environment safe from not only physical harm and illnesses but also from bullying and sexual harassment.
As we discuss in coaching high-performing individuals and teams, it is vital that management create a culture in which individuals feel safe giving voice to their opinions, goals, and concerns, in a constructive and supportive environment. An integral part of that environment is the safety of failure.
In Albert Einstein’s words, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new”. To achieve the standards of excellence and innovation necessary for a successful business, you need to have new ideas contributed from all departments – for new and/or better products, services, processes, standards, and practices. If people are pilloried for suggesting new ideas which end up failing, those new ideas will quickly stop coming…or go to the competition!
Sexual harassment has been in the news quite a bit lately, but harassment can take many forms. Individuals may be discriminated against, marginalized, or manipulated based on their gender, appearance, ethnicity, sexual orientation, handicaps, or any number of personal characteristics which have nothing to do with their jobs.
Accountability for an unsafe workplace starts at the top, and it is management’s responsibility to ensure that accountability for a safe environment is understood and practiced at every level. Education across the company should be institutionalized and practiced on a regular basis to maintain awareness of what unsafe behavior looks like, how to avoid it, and what to do about it if it does occur. As evidenced by rolling heads at multiple high-profile companies recently, upper management is accountable for unsafe behavior, even if they personally do not engage in it.
Trust, collaboration, innovation, and, ultimately, success can only exist in a safe environment.
Sincerely,
Tracey
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Fundamental of the Week #6: CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Both physical and emotional safety are important. Safety means it's okay to speak up or try new ideas without fear of blame; Innovation thrives in a safe environment.
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