Eddie Farah Finds that When it Comes to Worker Safety, Perception is (Almost) Everything
Every year, millions of Americans are injured on the job in the United States. Even more disturbing to Florida workers’; compensation attorney Eddie Farah, are the people who go to work every day in the United States and don’t make it back home — some 6,000 people die because of work-related accidents every year.
That is why he found a recent study by the University of Georgia so fascinating.
According to the authors of the study, a worker’s perception that their company values a safe work environment goes a long way when it comes to concretely reducing occupational injuries. The researchers found that companies willing to take the effort to foster positive workplace safety environments were able to reduce on-the-job injuries by 32 percent. They found this to be consistent across the board — from factories to offices.
They went on to observe that designing the best safety controls mean nothing if management doesn’t actively seek to maintain them. Having a formalized safety policy written in a company handbook and sitting in a drawer means a lot less to an employee than the perception that their employer is actually implementing steps to keep them safe.
A co-author of the study, Todd Smith, stated that conditions that lead to occupational injuries and employee perceptions that they work in an unsafe workplace are due to organizational failures. “Injury is a failure of management. Organizations who blame individuals for injuries do not create a positive safety climate,” he said.
It is clear that companies that actively promote and enact workplace safety policies create more positive and injury-free work environments. If you have been injured on the job due to unsafe work conditions, Jacksonville workers’; compensation attorney Eddie Farah and the legal team of Farah & Farah can help you understand your legal rights and options. Please call us at (800) 533-3555 today for a free consultation.
By Eddie Farah
