Orientation and Alignment
The following report examines questions on a psychological approach to health and safety. To answer these question, a review of Section 1: Orientation and alignment from Chapters 1-3: of the Psychology of Safety Handbook was done. The report examines the author’s approach to the human element or the psychology of safety in the workplace.
Geller Recommends Selecting the Best Approach When Trying to Improve Safety. What Is The “Best” Approach, As Suggested by Geller, And Why? What Are the Other Options Considered?
According to Geller, the perceived best approach to safety in the workplace might not always be the right one. Most organization seek to have the quickest and cheapest approach to improving safety, while others adopt an approach that offers the most benefit but with the least effort (Geller, 2000). While both approaches to safety
…show more content…
Geller argues that though repetition of a certain behavior (safe or unsafe) is necessary for a habit to be formed, the number of repetitions vary from person to person (Geller, 2000). In addition, there is a variation in behavioral types, as most complex or inconvenient behaviors (like safety-related behaviors) may never become a habit despite the number of times that the behavior is repeated. Also for some behaviors to be habitual, there might be a need for a conscious and deliberate effort by the doer for a habit to be established (Geller, 2000).
Myth 5: We Can Only Motivate Ourselves, Not Others This fifth myth is also not true. According to Geller, through motivation we are able to encourage people to adopt safe behaviors rather than unsafe behaviors that are more convenient, efficient and a habitual norm (Geller, 2000). Hence since an intervention can be made by motivating others, the myth is a fallacy (Geller,
|Explain how to create a safe and suitable environment for practitioners and clients | |Every organisation should have specific safety policies and plans tailored to their business and work environment, depending on| |what type of safety issues are relevant. By training all employees thoroughly in the safety policies, the organisation can | |ensure that an environment or situation is safe for all. Additionally, seeking the involvement of staff in drawing up plans or | |adding to them is an excellent way to obtain “buy in” and maintain compliance. | |When practitioners meet
We all know that habitual behaviours are difficult to change (think, for instance, about how hard it is for people to give up smoking.) Habitual behaviours are those behaviours with which we are comfortable. We do not want to move out of our comfort zones to change our habits.
Habits, as much as memory and cognition, are playing a pivotal role in our ordinary behavior. Majority of the choices we make each day may feel like they are the outcome of premeditated decisions, when in reality they are not. Once a habit starts unfolding, the brain is searching for methods to save effort and stops fully partaking in decision-making. We might not always be able to recall the actions that generate our habits, but once they are engraved within our brains, they influence our behavior without us even being aware of it. Habits become part of our nature. In the book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg depicts how one can create good habits and break the bad ones.
Reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg may help. What I have learned from Duhigg is that habits don’t just appear overnight, there is a systematic sequence of events that take place before one participates in their bad habit. It may not be apparent today, but as Duhigg states
So it would seem that natural behaviors, when positively reinforced, create a lasting stimulus as long as repetition continues. Sometimes this method of operant conditioning can be beneficial, such as
People engage in behavior to get reinforced. Just because one event works for one person doesn’t mean it will work for another. Many kinds of reinforcers influence people’s behavior.
Preparing safe work procedures for people who have to deal with dangerous equipment or situations
Defining acceptable risk is difficult because the degree to which defining 'acceptable' is situational. The level of occupational risk acceptable for someone who is a professional auto racer is different from an acceptable level of risk for someone who is a teacher. Calculating risk involves determining the probability and severity of likely safety incidents (Manuele 101). However, the degree of toleration of such risks will depend on the organizational culture of the institution (a fitness company might be more tolerant of the risks of taking employees on a mountain-climbing 'bonding' expedition than an accounting firm) and also its location (international firms are aware of the fact that certain areas of the world are more dangerous than others). However, regardless of the organizational culture, it is the responsibility of the safety professional to reinforce the message that safety is an important and valuable consideration that employers must take proactive steps to ensure. Managers must incorporate the principles of safety into the organization's vision, values, rules, and directives (Manuele 80-81).
Having a safety professional within the organization assist with the development of a health and safety protection plan, used by the organization, to create safety measures in conformity to standard guidelines OSHA. The criticality of strong safety leadership within an organization creates a circle for safety minimizing the possibilities of losses through health programs. This is to mean that when safety leadership is strong within the organization, output of staffs increases because they realize that their lives are held at high esteem. Subsequently, this leads to efficiency in their practice through the understanding created by the safety leader. Through this discussion, the focus will be on the advantages, of having a strongly, led safety department within an organization, and how it helps in the setting up of health programs to reduce losses.
Subconscious practices in which the brain reacts and performs tasks without much thought is the clear definition of a habit. Each of us develops various habits throughout our life and it is the subconscious acts we incorporate into daily life over time, often due to their effectiveness at accomplishing particular tasks. While a habit is not categorized as positive or negative, it is the harmful actions that should be altered to ensure a more productive life. Charles Duhigg explains the theories behind habits in The Power of Habit and how we form them in order to save us from the trite tasks of everyday life. Due to constant methods of performing tasks or simple urges our brain connects the three factors cue, routine, and reward, to
Every day a person must wake up, get ready in a certain order, drive to work in a certain direction, and go to sleep in a certain position. People of every age begin habits every day, even when they do not know it. This is a routine which is difficult to break. But once a person breaks that routine, it could make the mind go crazy. The mind does wonders as to what steps a person will use when creating or abandoning a habit.
Safety in the workplace is a rather large and very important topic. In these days of lawsuits, large insurance premiums, and malpractice, people are concerned about safety, if not for the humanitarian reasons, then for the monetary ones, the "bottom line." That's what it all comes down to, the 'mighty' dollar. In my research I attempted to address a side of safety in the workplace that I feel is often overlooked, namely, the worker's attitudes towards safety. I will concentrate on the workers who do not always follow the rules and guidelines that have been instituted for their own benefit.
We tend to think of habits as bad (smoking, cussing, biting your fingernails) but they can also be good (walking the dog, oatmeal for breakfast, a weekly date with your spouse). THE POWER OF HABIT shows how easily habits form. They rely on three simple things–a cue, a routine, and a reward–and don’t take long to stick. Our brains love habits. They allow us to be efficient. They help us do things like drive a car without constant self-monitoring. Once we learn where the brake pedal is and how hard to press the
We can all agree that habitual behaviors help make life easier, but what if some of these same behaviors are counter productive? A common example is someone who makes a good wage, but doesn 't save. We don 't want to alter the habitual behavior of
We are creatures of habit. Whether they are good or bad, habits shape our actions and help us get through our days. As Charles Duhigg describes in his book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, habits “emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort.” They are routines that automate parts of our behavior. Habits can be so firmly ingrained into our neural networks that we aren’t actually conscious of them, and we don’t need to put much thought to follow through them.