Health and safety workers driven by negative experience

The survey also found that a third of health and safety professionals (32%) who had swapped roles, attributed it to a family member or friend having a negative health and safety experience. One respondent elaborated, stating that a family friend had fallen from scaffolding, resulting in multiple operations.

According to HSE, falls from a height are still the most common kind of fatal accidents for workers, accounting for over one third of all workplace fatalities.

Richard Stockley continues: “A lack of proper health and safety training can have serious consequences for not only individuals and their peers in the workplace, but also their friends and family. An accident at work affects the entire community.” 

“This makes fostering a positive health and safety culture throughout an organisation critical with all workers contributing to a safe and healthy working environment regardless of their role. Best practice and safety precautions become second-nature, and a philosophy of learning, training and constant improvement is filtered throughout a business. This will stop individuals from being subjected to distressing events in the workplace, where people should be comfortable and safe.”