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Commentary: Don’t let Singapore’s record low workplace fatality rate be a ‘one-hit wonder’

Fear of retaliation can hinder the willingness of workers to voice concerns regarding safety, say SUSS’ Victor Seah and Angela Tan.

Commentary: Don’t let Singapore’s record low workplace fatality rate be a ‘one-hit wonder’

Workers at a construction site in Singapore on Sep 14, 2021. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s workplace fatality rate has finally come down after a challenging period in 2022 that saw the government put in place additional measures to press companies to prioritise safety.

At 0.99 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2023, Singapore’s workplace fatality rate is now among the lowest in the world. Thirty-six workers died in 2023.

Every life lost is one too many, but 2023’s number marks a significant improvement from the 46 deaths, or 1.3 deaths per 100,000 workers, in 2022.

Yet, as Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad for Manpower said in March, “What is key is to sustain this”.

“After you get there, you do not want to be called a one-hit wonder. You hope to be Taylor Swift with 20 years of success,” he said in Parliament.

(In case you’re wondering about the Taylor Swift reference, much of Singapore was caught up in Taylormania in March because of the pop star’s Eras Tour concert.)

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPEAKING UP

Much has changed in Singapore’s safety and health standards in the 20 years since the Nicoll Highway collapse claimed the lives of four workers on Apr 20, 2004. Three other workers were injured, and one man was never found. That year, 83 workers were killed, resulting in a workplace fatality rate of 4.9 per 100,000 workers.

Since then, the workplace fatal injury rate has fallen about 80 per cent. As World Day for Safety and Health at Work approaches on Apr 28, it is timely to consider how Singapore can keep workplace deaths to a minimum over the next 20 years and beyond.

The scene of the Nicoll Highway collapse in April 2004. (File photo: SCDF Corporate Communications Department)

Clearly, it will require the combined effort of stakeholders such as business owners, directors, unions, supervisors, workers, suppliers and contractors.

The one common way in which all these various stakeholders can directly contribute to workplace safety is through speaking up. The Spot, Stop, and Report campaign by NTUC seeks to make speaking up for safety easier and “without fear of retaliation”.

Fear of retaliation is indeed what we have observed, working with different organisations, for why some workers are not speaking up for safety. This fear also gets in the way of encouraging workers to “own safety” - a workplace safety goal highly sought after by business leaders.

The heightened safety period introduced in 2022 may have led to 2023’s record low workplace fatality rate but it is centred on “sticks” such as demerit points and risks of disqualification from tendering for projects and other penalties.

On its own, sticks do not directly lead to workers taking responsibility for safety. Indeed, it may just reinforce this idea told to us that “whatever you do, don’t get caught”.

“ROCKING THE BOAT”

How do we increase ownership of safety then? The often-missing ingredient is psychological safety, defined as a shared belief that members in a group feel safe to take interpersonal risks.

A worker reporting an unsafe practice is taking an interpersonal risk. He risks retaliation from the offenders for reporting, having his boss think of him as being inflexible or troublesome, or being ostracised by his co-workers for “rocking the boat”. If the worker judges these risks to be too high, they are unlikely to speak up for safety.

There is a body of evidence supporting the role of feeling psychologically safe and speaking up for safety. For instance, you may think that workers who have previously been injured at work are more likely to be vigilant, and to be more willing to speak up for safety. A study published in Safety Science in 2014 found this to be true, but only if those who sustained past injuries also report feeling high levels of psychological safety.

You may also think that the quality of the relationship between leaders and workers would affect workers’ safety behaviours. Again, there is evidence that you are right, but only in conditions where psychological safety is high, according to a separate study published in Safety Science in 2021.

It is clear then that psychological safety is a key enabler for speaking up for safety and for sustaining our high workplace safety standards.

EVERYONE CAN BE A SAFETY LEADER

What are some concrete steps that workers and companies can take then?

The first is to show care and concern for your colleagues. Workers are more likely to share their concerns when they believe their co-workers and leaders care for them as individuals. Concrete steps to build these bonds include regularly expressing appreciation for a job well done, avoiding public blame games when mistakes are inadvertently made, and even showing interest in co-workers’ lives outside of work.

If you are a leader, develop a habit to routinely ask workers about their safety concerns. This demonstrates care and concern and may also uncover less obvious safety concerns such as a fear of heights or discomfort with certain tasks. The use of rewards for safety can also be effective. Used judiciously, leaders can signal to employees that safety behaviours are valued and are the expected norms in an organisation.

Organisations can start treating every employee as a safety leader. This mindset shift from mere compliance to proactive safety leadership is key to sustaining our world-class safety standards.

For everyone to become a safety leader, organisations must provide psychological resources such as care, concern, and a safe environment for communication in the same way that physical safety tools such as helmets and fire extinguishers are made readily available. Organisations must allow for anonymous and safe reporting and have transparent policies that treat all safety reports seriously.

If we agree that any safety lapse is one too many, we should all play a leading role in creating a psychological safe environment where speaking up is the prevailing culture.

Dr Victor Seah is Acting Director of the Behavioural Insights Centre of Excellence at Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and Dr Angela Tan is Head of the Human Factors in Safety Programme at the School of Science & Technology at the same institute.

Source: CNA/aj
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