• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Safety Risk .net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE RESOURCES
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • PSYCHOLOGY OF SAFETY & RISK
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Covid-19
    • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
    • Covid-19 Returning to Work Inductions, Transitioning, Safety Start Up and Re Entry Plans
    • Covid-19 Work from Home Safety Checklists and Risk Assessments
    • The Hierarchy of Control and Covid-19
    • Why Safety Loves Covid-19
    • Covid-19, Cricket and Lessons in Safety
    • The Covid-19 Lesson
    • Safety has this Covid-19 thing sorted
    • The Heart of Wisdom at Covid Time
    • How’s the Hot Desking Going Covid?
    • The Semiotics of COVID-19 and the Social Amplification of Risk
    • Working From Home Health and Safety Tips – Covid-19
    • Covid-19 and the Hierarchy of Control
  • Dr Rob Long Posts
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no HIERARCHY of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • Quotes & Slogans
    • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
    • When Slogans Don’t Work
    • 77 OF THE MOST CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
    • 500 BEST and WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2021
    • 167 CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
    • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
    • Safety Acronyms
    • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
    • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
    • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
    • Safety Slogans List
    • Road Safety Slogans
    • How to write your own safety slogans
    • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
    • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
    • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
    • Safety Slogans for Work
You are here: Home / Robert Long / Right Then Children, Sit Up Straight and Take Some Safety

Right Then Children, Sit Up Straight and Take Some Safety

October 15, 2020 by Dr Rob Long 10 Comments

Right Then Children, Sit Up Straight and Take Some Safety

safety spud surveyI had a friend send a documented toolbox talk this week that was delivered to a site team in a tier 1 civil construction company and it was embarrassing. Why do teams of grown adults put up with such childish, kindergarten, patronizing nonsense when it is delivered in the name of safety??? Why would a tier 1 company with stratospheric absurdity in paperwork think that safety is best marketed though Mums For Safety???. And of course if something goes wrong, didn’t you ask your Mum? Wasn’t your Mum there to tell you what to do??? Did Mummy kiss it better? If you envision something you have to be aware of its trajectory (Envisioning Risk, Seeing, Vision and Meaning in Risk). If you have no vision then you can’t see what’s coming.

So many of these companies set themselves up for an absolute smashing because they peddle this immature 3 year old pre-school stuff at adults.

Of course the reason why such companies stoop to this childish stuff is because they don’t understand why people do what they do. They have no idea about human judgment and decision making and so the only reason they can find to explain worker’s actions is attributed to intentionally or dumbness. All this is premised on the behaviourist paradigm that people are the sum of inputs and outputs. No greater curse to safety than behaviourism.

· https://safetyrisk.net/the-curse-of-behaviourism/

· https://safetyrisk.net/turning-neuroscience-into-behaviourism/

· https://safetyrisk.net/kicking-the-behaviourism-habit/

Whatever your brand of behaviourism you can be assured, it will never help you understand why people do what they do. If you build a castle on sand, its bound to fall over and building sand castles seems to be a profession for Safety.

The toolbox in question that was posted to me was about eye wear, and of course these guys had been flogged to death, sermonized, lectured and indoctrinated with safety glasses campaigns for the past 20 years. Oh yeah, but I know, lets give the dumb bastards another serve because they obviously don’t get it. Then without any qualifications or experience in adult learning, education or teaching, deliver a 3 year old serve of playschool (https://safetyrisk.net/what-can-safety-learn-from-playschool/ ) in the name of safety. No wonder workers think safety is a dumb embuggerance inflicted on adults who are sick to death of the lack of imagination and vision in an industry so poorly educated that this is the best they can come up with.

Of course you can’t criticize Safety, you’d lose your job. You can’t criticize Safety you would be anti-safety. You can’t criticize Safety, even though it is infantile and immature, because Safety is always right. You can’t criticize Safety because you will be deemed toxic and negative. Sit up straight boys and girls and cop your medicine in safety.

The exercise that was a part of this toolbox involved a role-play and of course delivered by a person with no competence at all in what they were doing and, by all reports completely disinterested in the message that he had to deliver because he too wanted to keep his job. I think were I to show this to the average school teacher they would be embarrassed to ever try something like this with a Year 1 class!

And so here we have more of the same, no vision for safety with ‘dumb down’ packaged as a strategy for tackling risk that creates cynicism, negativity, pessimism and skepticism. What an outcome! I bet no one envisioned such a trajectory, delivering a message in safety that pissed off everyone to Safety. Brilliant!

If this is the culture Safety wishes to create then all safety messages that follow are a waste of time. Adults who switch off in being treated like 3 year olds don’t remember a skerrick of the message, all they remember is that Safety is about stupidity, childishness and blind compliance. Most often the dumb down message drives the very opposite of what is desired. No wonder rooves fall in when you need your Mum around to tell you what to do. And the industry wishes to claim the word ‘professional’.

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Rob
Dr Rob Long

Dr Rob Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions
Dr Rob Long

Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)

  • Culture Silences in Safety – Linguistics - May 26, 2022
  • Culture Silences in Safety – Embodiment - May 26, 2022
  • Culture Silences in Safety – Holism - May 23, 2022
  • Culture Silences in Safety The Collective Unconscious - May 21, 2022
  • Culture Silences in Safety Artefacts - May 20, 2022
Dr Rob Long
PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Robert Long, Social Psychology of Risk Tagged With: behaviourism

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rob Long says

    October 16, 2020 at 7:40 AM

    Yes Doug, I think what you are talking about is Wisdom, that silent partner to critical thinking and experience. Wisdom is never spoken about in safety but rather the parade of being ‘professional’ is the fixation, at the same time as having no ethic of risk. I empathise with those trapped in the ‘golden handcuffs’ and understand why. I just wish that those who had some power in the industry would listen to the stories of Cog and wish to do something about it but no. As the AIHS Ethic states, comply and duty and there is no Hope in such a message.

    Reply
  2. Doug Fatches says

    October 16, 2020 at 7:09 AM

    I came through the Dupont BS in the 90’s the Zero in the new century, and thankfully besides being qualified in Adult education, My text was George Botham, and now the stinging verse of Rob. I was in trades, maintenance and emergency services and quality, before I was called to safety, as my experiences of harm and my knowledge gave me a belief that, I can make a difference. Only then I got my safety qualification, so in some worlds that makes me different. Experience is not taught in a class room.
    As Bernard Corden has said here before me, “Once your integrity is compromised” That surely only occurs for those that don’t have the conviction to start with.
    I understand how the “Golden Hand cuffs” can be a lure, When you take on a job in safety, you need to be a “Professional”. I have had younger managers with the advanced diplomas with distinctions, I had conviction and courage.
    Keep pressing on and don’t try to sell something you don’t own

    Reply
  3. Bernard Corden says

    October 15, 2020 at 8:38 PM

    Once your integrity is compromised the next step is membership of our peak safety body and professional certification, which teaches you Orwellian doublespeak.

    Reply
  4. Rob Long says

    October 15, 2020 at 8:31 PM

    Cog, what a sad indictment of this industry. And the associations keep their heads in the sand and spruik the word ‘professional’ as much as they like and then do nothing about these deep seated cultural issues that plague the industry. So much denial, delusion and certainly no vision. All so wedded to Zero who dictates their every move.

    Reply
  5. Cog says

    October 15, 2020 at 7:34 PM

    Part of the answer to questions like “Why do teams of grown adults put up with such childish, kindergarten, patronizing nonsense when it is delivered in the name of safety?” are what you stated Rob; fear. I call them “golden handcuffs”. The money paid to these employees (of all levels, even decision makers) outweighs the ethical stance of doing what is right. Speak out against blatant examples of delusion? Bad grammar? Non-sensical, condescending mantras? That is great, except that you will be a social pariah and looking and/or looking for work in no time. I lose hours of sleep (as do others I know of) because we know the trajectory of zero and yet we also have to feed our families. I know many that would leave the safety trade NOW if there were something else available, but the sad truth is we have allowed ourselves to be clamped in these “golden handcuffs” and survival of ourselves in this environment outweighs what we know to be ethical. I am not proud of being shackled; as I stated it makes me sick to the point of losing sleep EVERY night. But I do not see any hope in this industry of change. Your words are true and backed by evidence. But the cult of Safety helps pay the bills and by the time some understand the evil of zero, we are caught and restrained in “golden handcuffs” and the only way out is a new career (not a realistic option for most) or permanent retirement (again, often not an option for most). Sometimes, I wish I did not know the truth. While it is enlightening and helps me to understand my fellow human beings one on one or in small groups, it also creates a sense of despair in knowing the damage machine that I am part of and helpless to stop. Sometimes, being “dumb” or ignorant is bliss. I suppose philosophically you could ask the question “Would you rather be dumb and happy or smart/informed and consistently in despair?”

    Reply
  6. Rob Long says

    October 15, 2020 at 7:33 PM

    Wynand, I guess when your mortgage depends on it or employment you carry on the facade of compliance that more deeply drives resentment and alienation. Psychology is not a panacea in itself either but more the ability to think critically and envision trajectories of where lots of this safety nonsense is taking us.

    Reply
  7. Wynand says

    October 15, 2020 at 6:35 PM

    I have seen psychology experts (PhD) be so indoctrinated at work that even they started to defend this approach. Imagine someone with a senior qualification in psychology defending and driving BBS, Zero Harm and blind compliance. I have seen this in an environment where critical thinking was seen as an attack on management, and the psychologist supported BBS as culture improvement tool while ignoring the impact of this on the desired company culture of being a learning organisation. I do agree that proper understanding of psychology and learning is seriously lacking and needed in the industry.

    Reply
  8. Bernard Corden says

    October 15, 2020 at 6:27 PM

    That toolbox talk will probably be delivered at the forthcoming AIHS Visions Conference in November and receive critical acclaim for its innovation and creativity.

    Reply
  9. Rob Long says

    October 15, 2020 at 6:05 PM

    Spot on

    Reply
  10. Jan Hall says

    October 15, 2020 at 5:34 PM

    A pity there were ever qualifications created in “H&S”. Better to study psych, and adult learning and motivation and learn the provisions of the ACT on the job.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

Visit Count – Started Jan 2015

  • 24,030,230 Visitors

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,427 other subscribers

NEW! Free Download

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

Recent Comments

  • Matt Thorne on SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF RISK – INTRODUCTION WORKSHOP
  • Matt Thorne on SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF RISK – INTRODUCTION WORKSHOP
  • Rob Long on Culture Silences in Safety – Embodiment
  • Rob Long on SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF RISK – INTRODUCTION WORKSHOP
  • Brian Darlington on SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF RISK – INTRODUCTION WORKSHOP
  • Wynand on Culture Silences in Safety – Embodiment
  • Lynn Getzinger on Free Online Safety Training Courses
  • Rob Long on How to Give an Unforgettable Safety Presentation
  • Ndilimeke Shiwayu on How to Give an Unforgettable Safety Presentation
  • Mark Wayne Arboso on 500 BEST and WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2021

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Recent Posts

  • SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF RISK – INTRODUCTION WORKSHOP
  • Culture Silences in Safety – Linguistics
  • Culture Silences in Safety – Embodiment
  • Culture Silences in Safety – Holism
  • Culture Silences in Safety The Collective Unconscious
  • Culture Silences in Safety Artefacts
  • Culture Silences in Safety Symbolism
  • Culture Silences in Safety Mythology
  • The Safety Trifecta and Nothing Changes
  • Sleep Dysfunction, Dreaming and Safety

What is Psychological Safety at Work?

Footer

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,427 other subscribers

AUTHORS

  • Alan Quilley
    • Heinrich–Industrial Accident Prevention
    • The Problem With ZERO Goals and Results
  • Bernard Corden
    • After the goldrush
    • The Internationale
  • Bill Sims
    • Employee Engagement: Chocolate, Vanilla, or Strawberry?
    • Injury Hiding-How do you stop it?
  • Craig Clancy
    • Task Based vs Activity Based Safe Work Method Statements
    • Safety And Tender Submissions
  • Daniel Kirk
    • It’s easy being wise after the event.
    • A Positive Safety Story
  • Dave Whitefield
    • Safety is about…
    • Safety and Compliance
  • Dennis Millard
    • Are You Risk Intelligent?
    • Honey they get me! They get me at work!
  • Drewie
    • Downturn Doin’ Your Head In? Let’s Chat….
    • How was your break?
  • Gabrielle Carlton
    • All Care and No Care!
    • You Are Not Alone!
  • George Robotham
    • How to Give an Unforgettable Safety Presentation
    • How To Write a Safety Report
  • Goran Prvulovic
    • Safety Manager – an Ultimate Scapegoat
    • HSE Performance – Back to Basics
  • James Ellis
    • Psychological Core Stability for Wellbeing in Workers Comp
    • In search of plan B in workers’ recovery
  • James Parkinson
    • To laugh or not to laugh
    • People and Safety
  • John Toomey
    • In it for The Long Haul – Making the most of the FIFO Lifestyle
    • Who is Responsible for This?
  • Karl Cameron
    • Abby Normal Safety
    • The Right Thing
  • Ken Roberts
    • Safety Legislation Is Our Biggest Accident?
    • HSE Trip Down Memory Lane
  • Mark Perrett
    • Psychology of Persuasion: Top 5 influencing skills for getting what you want
  • Mark Taylor
    • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
    • Enculturing Safety
  • Max Geyer
    • WHS Legislation is NOT about Safety it’s about Culture
    • Due Diligence Is Not Just Ticking Boxes!
  • Matt Thorne
    • Safety Culture–Hudson’s Model
    • Culture – Edgar Schein
  • Peter Ribbe
    • Is there “Common Sense” in safety?
    • Who wants to be a safety professional?
  • Phil LaDuke
    • Professional Conferences Are A Sleazy Con
    • Hey Idiots, You’re Worried About the Wrong Things
  • Admin
    • SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF RISK – INTRODUCTION WORKSHOP
    • Study Reveals an Unexpected Side Effect of Traffic Safety Messages
  • Dr Rob Long
    • Culture Silences in Safety – Linguistics
    • Culture Silences in Safety – Embodiment
  • Rob Sams
    • The Learning (and unlearning) that Revealed my Vocation
    • I’m just not that into safety anymore
  • Barry Spud
    • Things To Consider When Developing And Designing Your Company SWMS
    • Bad Safety Photos
  • Sheri Suckling
    • How Can I Get the Boss to Listen?
  • Simon Cassin
    • Safety values, ideas, behaviours and clothes
  • Safety Nerd
    • The Block isn’t portraying safety as it should be
    • Toolbox Talk Show–PPE
  • Wynand Serfontein
    • Why The Problem With Learning Is Unlearning
    • I DON’T KNOW
  • Zoe Koskinas
    • Why is fallibility so challenging in the workplace?

Most commented on

Forecasting Safety

The Banned Objects Index – A New Development in Safety Culture

The Unconscious and the Soap Dispenser

Dumbs for Safety

The Real Barriers to Safety

Safety as Faith Healing

Who Said We Don’t Need Systems?

Why Safety Controls Don’t Always Work

How to use signs, symbols and text effectively in communicating about risk

Safety Should NOT Be About Safety

FEATURED POSTS

How Semiotics Affects The Return To Work Process

Fooled by Certainty

The Dynamics of Dehumanisation

Speaking a New Language in Safety

Reflections of a ‘Doer’

A Poetics of Safety

Bad Moon Rising

Visual Learning and Envisioning Risk

When Slogans Don’t Work

cut finger

Confirmity in Conformity

Human Dymensions Newsletter–October 2014

The Certainty of Uncertainty

Balance in Risk and Safety

Just Hangin’ Out…

Safety Giveaways–Free Stuff!

Looking Forward, Looking Back

Envisioning Risk in Canada

Why Metaphors Matter in Risk

The Safety Worldview and the Worldview of Safety, Testing Due Diligence

‘Can’t Means Won’t Try’ – The Challenge of Being Challenged

More Posts from this Category

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,427 other subscribers

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

 

How To Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

 

 

How to Make your own Covid-19 Face Mask

 

Covid-19 Returning To Work Safety, Transitioning, Start Up And Re Entry Plans

 

How’s the Hot Desking Going Covid?

imageOne of the benefits of the Covid-19 epidemic is a total rethink about how we live and work (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-28/coronavirus-could-reshape-how-australians-work-forever/12097124 ).

Expertise by Regurgitation and Re-Badging

One of the fascinating things about the Coronavirus pandemic is watching Safety morph into epidemiology expertise. I would like a dollar for every flyer, presentation, podcast, powerpoint, checklist template, toolbox talk and poster set that had jumped into my inbox… Read the rest

The Stress of Stasis

One of the challenging things about the Coronavirus crisis is stasis. For those without work and confined to home, for those in self-isolation, it’s like life is frozen in time. ‘Stay at home’ is the mantra. The trouble is, in… Read the rest

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.