"Incentives don't work." "Goals motivate behavior." "Behavior-based safety produces only temporary results." "People cannot be motivated by others, they can only motivate themselves." "Slogans, posters, games and safety incentives should be eliminated."
Confusing, isn't it? Just what does motivate us to work safely? Is there any value to incentives, goals, posters? I've heard numerous consultants and safety professionals seem to deny the basic principle of behavior-based safety. That is, behavior is directed by preceding events (termed antecedent conditions or activators) and motivated by consequences. This activator-behavior-consequence (ABC) sequence is a basic principle of human motivation, founded on years of rigorous behavioral science research. The principle is indisputable.