But to fully realize this power, managers must avoid several traps when it comes to their involvement in safety. This article discusses those pitfalls, and how to step around them.
Many times companies think they are focusing their safety efforts on employee behavior and don't understand why they are not meeting desired safety goals. There are two basic reasons: First, managers have tried to frighten employees into safe behavior; and, second, they offer rewards for a lack of accidents. Neither approach increases safe work behavior, and both, in fact, violate everything we know about human behavior and how to influence it.