Beware of normalization – SafetyCulture Blog

Why office accidents tend to take place late in a job

We all understand some jobs carry a greater danger than others. Often when we start a job, job or activity we understand and mindful of this risk. As time goes on, numerous of us become comfortable, with a false sense of security of the risks related to the job we’re carrying out.

This is how errors and mishaps occur. This behaviour is explained as “normalization.” It is why workplace mishaps tend to occur later on in the task, as noted by Neil Swidey, author of Trapped Under the Sea. Neil has actually spent years looking into workplace health and wellness information. Writing in the Harvard Organisation Review, he reports that whether it’s a small home-improvement task or a big public facilities mega project, problem normally develops late in the job timeline:

“The more individuals do something without suffering a bad outcome, the harder it ends up being for them to remain knowledgeable about the dangers related to that behavior. The most obvious example of this in daily life is texting while driving. Many of us have actually been guilty of this dangerous behavior, even if we don’t wish to confess. And if we’ve never suffered an accident as an outcome of all of furtive thumbing from behind the wheel, we might have even deceived ourselves into believing we’re just better at it than the majority of people. We’re not. That’s simply the sexy yet slippery power of normalization at work.”

[Tweet “Normalization: A danger to every workplace @NeilSwidey #OHS #Safety”]

Neil first noticed this habits when putting together information for his book on industrial scuba divers.

“Prior to I spent 5 years researching my book Trapped Under the Sea, the true story of a group of industrial divers sent out on a difficult mission to rescue the multibillion-dollar cleanup of Boston Harbor, I intuitively assumed that the most dangerous time on a job was The first day. After all, that’s when workers are normally getting utilized to a brand-new setting, new coworkers, and brand-new equipment, and when the knowing curve is steepest. After marinating in work environment security data, I came to understand that the opposite is true.”

Moral of the story; do not fall under the slippery power of normalization.

Everybody knows someone who has been impacted by an office mishap. So keep in mind, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

For more detail, read Neil’s post on the Harvard Organisation Evaluation, ” Why Office Accidents Tend to Take Place Late in a Task.”

Tips to remain vigilant through an entire job with iAuditor:

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