I have been following the 'attitude versus behavior' debate in the safety industry for many years. Although I tend toward the 'attitudinal' way of thinking, I certainly admit and understand that a safe attitude may not always translate into safe behavior. And as far as behavior-based safety is concerned, 'attitudinalists' seem to be losing the battle. However, a new controversy seems to have begun to take its place - the value of safety incentive programs. Is their success determined by 'behavior' or 'attitude?' The "Draft OSHA Policy on Employee Incentive Programs at VPP (Voluntary Protection Program) Sites" states in part: "For example, an employer might have a system that provides cash or other prizes to employees whenever the facility goes a certain length of time without a lost-workday incident. While this is certainly an admirable goal and a cause for celebration, the program also unfortunately provides a disincentive for workers to report injuries and illnesses for fear of causing themselves and their fellow workers to forgo the award."
Any facility whose safety culture tolerates non-reporting needs more help than any safety incentive program can provide. When the value of a safety award becomes greater than respect for safety, respect for health and respect for human life, that facility may wish to take a long, hard look at the message they are sending to their employees. They may also wish to re-evaluate the type of program and incentives that they are using. I recently heard of a company that promised $100 cash to all employees if they exceeded their previous record of days without a lost-time incident. Within days of attaining the record, one of the employees was injured and reported that injury. He was ostracized by his fellow employees and ended up quitting.