In one of the WhatsApp groups that brings together OSH managers in Romania, the other day I watched a very interesting discussion related to the poster below.
The question of one of the members: “Have you used/use such posters?” received positive responses mentioning the fact that mirrors with the same content are also used in England and Germany.
This reminds me of similar messages encountered in some companies, either at the entrance or above the sink in the bathrooms.
Despite the good intentions of those who use this approach, the lack of knowledge of linguistics does not lead to the desired result, and even backfires.
One of the disciplines we study within SPoR – Social Risk Psychology is linguistics.
Linguistics refers to the study of language and has to do with everything we communicate, both spoken and written.
The study of linguistics helps us understand the culture of the organizations we work with and how the language used in the organization influences people’s decisions about risk. In addition, it helps you understand the meaning, meaning and purpose of the message. We can thus find out what is beyond words: the values promoted, the prejudices, the intention of manipulation, the real purpose of the message.
Because the language that people use is never neutral, language and discourse analysis reveal to us the philosophy of the person who uses it, their vision and the organization of the world.
The study of fiction, dramaturgy and poetry in elementary school has exactly this role: to prepare you to understand what the meaning of the words is used and what vision of the world the person or organization that uses them has.
That this is not easy to do, it is clear to me, and I think I am not the only one tormented by the famous question asked by the teacher of Romanian language and literature “What did the author of the poem mean?”
Let’s take a closer look of the message in question: “The person responsible for your safety is YOU”.
What does this message convey to me? That the result of the investigation of a potential work accident in this organization has only one cause: Me. That is, another way of saying that “the victim is always to blame”.
In this way, the company’s management (those who paid for the creation and promotion of the message) intentionally ignores the other possible causes of a possible accident: old equipment, poorly designed processes, the managerial decision to reduce costs by not maintaining on time, managerial pressure for productivity, lack of specific training, inability to recruit and retain properly qualified personnel, etc.
In other words, lying by omission. When you communicate with someone with whom you share the same interest only the things that put you at an advantage in a specific situation, we can say that it is about manipulation.
When the text is accompanied by uninspired graphics, the message becomes all the stronger and builds a false perception about my responsibility and authority to prevent accidents.
In the photo, the index finger pointing towards me conveys not only anxiety but also a feeling of guilt, a priori. In addition, it reminds me of Uncle Sam’s army recruitment messages.
Without pretending to be perfect, I think a message like “Safety starts with US. Take care of yourself and your colleagues!” contributes better to my safety and that of my colleagues.
US defines the social relationship between me and all my colleagues and point out that we are together in this story, equally accountable. The responsibility for safety at work is a two-way street and is always social.
When it comes to safety, the use of US also contributes to the creation of a common identity and puts all the people involved on the same level of responsibility regardless of the hierarchical level in the company.
In no organization do fear and anxiety generate positive long-term results.
If you are interested in improving internal safety communication, please send an e-mail to decebalm@corporatdynamics.ro and Corporate Dynamics consultants will be happy to respond.
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Rob Long says
Thanks Dec. language matters, which is why we should’nt speak nonsense to people like the language of zero.