A few weeks ago, several safety pros were writing a paper on hazard recognition. In the first draft they wrote, “leaders and workers were complacent about hazard recognition and the potential harm caused by not seeing hazards.” A debate ensued. Is “complacent” the right word? Sounds a bit insulting, like you’re lazy or out of touch. The second draft substituted the words “too confident” — “leaders and workers realized they were too confident that they saw the hazards they were working around.”

Complacency is very common in the safety vernacular. It’s been used for eons. Complacency kills. Complacency is a silent killer. It is a mindset. It is a habit. You become numb to the severity of a danger you see. You’re phoning it in. Complacency is human nature, a human behavior. And connected to this is the disputed claim that 95 percent of all injuries are caused by workers’ unsafe behaviors. Blame the worker. Blame complacency.

Uninformed self-satisfaction?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of complacency is not flattering: “unaware or uninformed self-satisfaction.” Are your workers uninformed and self-satisfied? The synonyms are not kind. Self-absorbed. Lazy. Smug, Arrogant. Zoned out. Impudent. Stuck-up. Insolent. Conceited. Cavalier. Cocky. Egotistical.

There are not the words used to describe your safety culture, correct? It’s the exact opposite. Unselfish values. Concern. Caring. Dissatisfaction – safety can always improve. Empathy. Compassion. Understanding. Awareness. Mindfulness.  Your safety culture is made up of your people. Wouldn’t these words characterize the majority of your workforce?

An accusation carrying baggage

Think hard before accusing a worker of being selfish, lazy, checked out, going through the motions, lost in their own world, unengaged, non-observant. Many workers will take offense, become defensive, hunker down, shut down and disengage.

It’s too easy, hasty, and judgmental to call out someone for being complacent. “You’re taking a short cut. Must be complacent.” “You’re rushing. Think you know it all?” “You’re not taking the initiative. You’ve gotten lazy.” “Not wearing PPE? Do you think you’re Superman?”

Accusing someone of being complacent puts all the onus on them. This gets back to those 95 percent unsafe behaviors. Caused by self-satisfied complacency? Leadership, management, supervisors are let off the hook here. No upward accountability. “Gotta get ‘er done now” can push short cuts and rushing. Production, efficiency or cost reduction can be prioritized over safety. The safety program is good enough as is. Supervisors fail to audit regularly. Safety investigations focus on individual fault or confirm a lack of systemic fault. Leaders are in the field not wearing PPE. Safety is talked up but never acted upon or invested in. Call this organizational, systemic complacency.

Consider the big picture before, “Man, you are on auto-pilot. Complacent. Zoned out. You need to be retrained. More training.”

True complacency

To be sure, complacency exists in workplace safety. You’ll always find workers who’ve never been injured, never had a near miss, years into their job, and think “it won’t happen to me.” Always find workers who think they “know a better way.” Or are unhappy on the job, bored, frustrated, distracted, maybe with problems off the job.

Studies show that in workplaces with the best safety records, safety pros know the workforce well. They are out and about, talking, listening, coaching, understanding. They know who is smug, arrogant, agitated or distracted. Savvy pros also know when the higher ups are left unaccountable for safety — opening the door for at-risk behaviors on the floor.

Before accusing someone of being complacent, consider who you are talking to, what you know about them. What you know about the strength of your leadership and your safety culture. Remember the other words associated with being complacent. You might decide, as the safety pros discussing hazard recognition in the beginning of this article, that there are other means of winning hearts and minds. “I think we’re being too confident here.” “Are you sure about that?” “What example are you setting?” “Why is your way the best way?”

You might take the target off the individual and have a discussion with leadership. “I see signs we’re being complacent about safety here. And I mean a collective ‘we’.”