The subject of safety recognition — more commonly known as safety incentives — always seems to raise considerable debate. Both believers and non-believers of safety incentives have expressed good points for both sides. Those companies that do not participate in safety incentives worry that such a program will cause employees to not report accidents, rather than change the safety culture itself. Those who use safety incentives stand by the fact that negative behavior is punished with consequences and positive behavior is rewarded.
The idea of rewards is not new. Pavlov’s dog is the most common that comes to mind. The dog understood that he would get food when the bell rang, causing him to salivate. Eventually, the dog would salivate when he heard the bell. Thankfully, humans are a more complex species. However, the theory, even at a dog’s level, is correct.