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

SafetyRisk.net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE
    • Slogans
      • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
      • When Slogans Don’t Work
      • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
      • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
      • 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 2023
      • 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
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • Free Hotel and Resort Risk Management Checklist
    • 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
  • Social Psychology Of Risk
    • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
    • 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
  • Dr Long Posts
    • ALL 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!
  • THEMES
    • Psychosocial Safety
    • Resiliencing
    • Risk Myths
    • Safety Myths
    • Safety Culture Silences
    • Safety Culture
    • Psychological Health and Safety
    • Zero Harm
    • Due Diligence
  • Free Learning
    • Introduction to SPoR – Free
    • FREE RISK and SAFETY EBOOKS
    • FREE ebook – Guidance for the beginning OHS professional
    • Free EBook – Effective Safety Management Systems
    • Free EBook – Lessons I Have Learnt
  • Psychosocial Safety
    • What is Psychosocial Safety
    • Psychological Safety
      • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
      • Managing psychosocial hazards at work
      • Psychological Safety – has it become the next Maslow’s hammer?
      • What is Psychosocial Safety
      • Psychological Safety Slogans and Quotes
      • What is Psychological Safety?
      • Understanding Psychological Terminology
      • Psycho-Social and Socio-Psychological, What’s the Difference?
      • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
      • It’s not weird – it’s a psychological safety initiative!
You are here: Home / Mental health / Psychosocial Safety / Safety Engagement with Workspace, Headspace and Groupspace

Safety Engagement with Workspace, Headspace and Groupspace

October 25, 2021 by Dr Rob Long 8 Comments

So much of what we do in safety takes its focus on workspace. We call this the physical or ‘primary’ dimension of safety. This is easy to administer and regulate because what is required is visible and accountable through checklists matched to regulations. Most safety walks and observations are physical (primary) activities. Walking around and observing what is physically out of place is relatively easy. Unfortunately, this seems to be the majority of what safety professionals do. Every time safety officers undertake observations they seem to concentrate on the same things they found last time. Without ownership, nothing changes.

Often safety walks take the form of the ‘nitpicky repetition cycle’. The ‘nitpicky repetition cycle’ often takes the form of nagging and threatening others about personal protective equipment, dress, trip hazards, dues dates, tags, tickets, barricades, traffic, exclusion zones etc. Whilst these things are important they are a small part of the safety equation. Unfortunately, people assume because something looks safe, that it is safe. Similarly, assumptions are made that if something looks unsafe then it is unsafe. Looks can be deceiving.

One of the first things I do in my Advanced Hazard Identification and PROACT training is help people expand their safety paradigm to think more in terms of workspace, headspace and groupspace. I have written previously about primary, secondary and tertiary hazards and risks. The idea of workspace, headspace and groupspace captures more simply the fundamentals of Psychosocial Safety.

Understanding, observing and influencing workspace, headspace and groupspace is foundational to Psychosocial Safety. We can go on as many safety walks and observations as we like but if we only engage with the primary/physical dimension of safety will never start the journey to the Total Safety Organisation.

How do we begin to practice a Psychosocial Safety approach to observations and conversations? We must understand and learn to engage with workspace, headspace and groupspace, and the interactions between all three dimensions. We must know how to question and engage and influence the physical (primary), psychological (secondary) and cultural (tertiary) dimensions of safety.

Engaging others in workspace, headspace and groupspace takes training and practice. You need to know what you are looking and listening for and how to extract knowledge in these dimensions through effective questioning. Unfortunately too many safety professionals think that the development of ownership in safety is spontaneously generated through telling, lecturing, correcting and policing. These work in the short term but they don’t motivate others to ownership and they certainly make no difference over the long term. This is why the ‘nitpicky repetition cycle’ is one of the greatest frustrations for safety professionals. I often get frustrated when I read and see safety consultants offering nothing more to clients than proficiency in the ‘nitpicky repetition cycle’.

There’s not much need to elaborate in this article about conversations and observations in workspace, we are already proficient in that. So let’s discuss in a bit more detail the engagement and focus of headspace and groupspace.

Engaging with headspace is undertaken best through open questions and generating dialogue. When we engage with headspace we are listening for: assumptions; micro-rules; heuristics; beliefs; rules of thumb; gut knowledge; values; biases; principles, language ‘anchors’, ‘double speak’, habits of mind; competing values, intuitions; emotional decisions; doubts, internal integration and psychological goals. We are looking for: symbols; artifacts; blind spots; omissions; habits and evidence of learning priority. When we hear and see these things we can then respond to them and influence belief and values change.

When we engage with groupspace we are listening for: ‘effects’; interaction beliefs; relationships; trust; power discourse; stereotypes, distractions; interruptions; dissonance; heroes and enemies; power politics; exclusive language; shared meanings; ‘rules of the game’; ‘risk quackery’; situated learning; cognitive load, organic alignments and external adaption. We are looking for: social validation; recognition patterns, stressors; punishment signs and attributions. When we hear and see these things we can then respond to them and influence safety culture change.

Knowing how to infiltrate these dimensions and knowing how they influence safety culture is beyond the scope of this article. To conduct observations and conversations in these dimensions with understanding is not something which comes naturally or automatically. Learning how to engage, listen and perceive these things takes learning and practice. Learning how to ‘prime’ and influence these dimensions is a journey many safety professionals are yet to commence. However, this is the journey we need to take if the idea of a Total Safety Organisation attracts us.

  • 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)

  • Competing Values Framework and SPoR - March 25, 2023
  • Culture and Risk Workshop – Feedback - March 24, 2023
  • The Myth of Certainty and Prediction in Risk - March 21, 2023
  • Practical Case Studies in SPoR Presented at Vienna Workshops - March 21, 2023
  • Risk iCue Video - March 20, 2023
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 a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Psychosocial Safety, Robert Long, Safety Culture, Social Psychology of Risk Tagged With: groupspace, headspace, psychology of safety, Psychosocial Safety, safety communication, Safety Engagement, safety officer, Safety Systems, total safety organisation, workspace

Reader Interactions

Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

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 7,516 other subscribers

Recent Comments

  • Rob Long on Culture and Risk Workshop – Feedback
  • Andrew Floyd on Culture and Risk Workshop – Feedback
  • Leon Lindley on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Rob Long on Entertainment, Suckers and Making Money From Safety
  • Rob Long on Celebrating 60 Years of Lifeline
  • Gregg Ancel on Entertainment, Suckers and Making Money From Safety
  • Rob Sams on Celebrating 60 Years of Lifeline
  • Rob long on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Rob Long on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Rob Long on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Rob Long on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Admin on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Leon Lindley on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Admin on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Mariaa Sussan on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Brian Darlington on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Leon Lindley on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Narelle Stoll on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Narelle Stoll on Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Brian Edwin Darlington on SPoR Workshops Vienna 26-30 June

RECOMMENDED READING

viral post – iso 45003 and what it cannot do

Introduction to SPOR – FREE!!

Psychosocial Safety and Mental Health Series

Celebrating 60 Years of Lifeline

Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness

Duty of Care is NOT Duty to Care (for persons)

Safety, Ethics, SPoR and How to Foster the Abuse of Power

Psychosocial Spin – Naming Bad as Good, Good Work Safety!

How to Manage Psychosocial Risks in your organisation

The Delusions of AI, Risk and Safety

Health, the Poor Cousin of Safety

Psychosocial Health Conversations – Three

Conversations About Psychosocial Risk – Greg Smith, Dr Craig Ashhurst and Dr Rob Long

More Posts from this Category

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Footer

VIRAL POST – The Risk Matrix Myth

Top Posts & Pages. Sad that most are so dumb but this is what safety luves

  • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
  • Free Safety Moments and Toolbox Talk Examples, Tips and Resources
  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • Road Safety Slogans 2023
  • Culture and Risk Workshop - Feedback
  • 15 Safety Precautions When Working With Electricity
  • Safety Acronyms
  • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
  • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
  • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS, CHECKISTS, REGISTERS, TEMPLATES and APPS

Recent Posts

  • Competing Values Framework and SPoR
  • Culture and Risk Workshop – Feedback
  • The Myth of Certainty and Prediction in Risk
  • Practical Case Studies in SPoR Presented at Vienna Workshops
  • Risk iCue Video
  • Rethinking Leadership in Risk
  • ‘Can’t Means Won’t Try’ – The Challenge of Being Challenged
  • Gesture and Symbol in Safety, the Force of Culture
  • Human Factors is Never About Humans
  • Celebrating 60 Years of Lifeline
  • Smart Phone Addiction, FOMO and Safety at Work
  • Entertainment, Suckers and Making Money From Safety
  • Breaking the Safety Code
  • The Futility of the Centralised Safety Management System?
  • Liking and Not Liking in Safety, A Tale of In-Group and Out-Groupness
  • Risk iCue Video Two – Demonstration
  • Radical Uncertainty
  • The Safety Love Affair with AI
  • Safety is not a Person, Safety as an Archetype
  • Duty of Care is NOT Duty to Care (for persons)
  • What Can ‘Safety’ Learn From a Rock?
  • Safety, Ethics, SPoR and How to Foster the Abuse of Power
  • Psychosocial Spin – Naming Bad as Good, Good Work Safety!
  • SPoR Workshops Vienna 26-30 June
  • What Theory of Learning is Embedded in Your Investigation Methodology?
  • How to Manage Psychosocial Risks in your organisation
  • Risk You Can Eat
  • Triarachic Thinking in SPoR
  • CLLR NEWSLETTER–March 2023
  • Hoarding as a Psychosis Against Uncertainty
  • The Delusions of AI, Risk and Safety
  • Health, the Poor Cousin of Safety
  • Safety in The Land of Norom from the Book of Nil
  • Psychosocial Health Conversations – Three
  • Conversations About Psychosocial Risk – Greg Smith, Dr Craig Ashhurst and Dr Rob Long
  • Jingoism is NOT Culture, but it is for Safety
  • CLLR Special Edition Newsletter – Giveaways Update
  • The Disembodied Human and Persons in Safety
  • 200,000 SPoR Book Downloads
  • What SPoR Network is.
  • Trinket Safety
  • How to Know if Safety ‘Works’
  • Due Diligence is NOT Quantitative
  • SPoR Community Network
  • Conversations About Psychosocial Risk Session 2 – Greg Smith, Dr Craig Ashhurst and Dr Rob Long
  • The Psychology of Blaming in Safety
  • By What Measure? Safety?
  • Safe Work Australia a Vision for No Vision
  • Do we Need a Different Way of Being in Safety?
  • Non Common Sense Mythology

VIRAL POST!!! HOW TO QUIT THE SAFETY INDUSTRY

FEATURED POSTS

The Safety Worldview

Overcoming Safety Indoctrination

Safety is an Art

My thoughts during a walk in the Forests in Vienna

Zero Accident Vision Non-Sense

Safety and The Sunk Cost Fallacy

What Can Marx Say to Safety?

Safety is the Wrong Anchor

Zero Suicide and the Discourse of Denial

Investigations and Heuristics

Human Dymensions Newsletter–Feb 14

WARNING: Not Your Typical Safety Nonsense

Body Memory and Safety

You Can’t Will Attentiveness

Who Said We Don’t Need Systems?

Free Two Chapter Download and Book Competition

Safety Giveaways–Free Stuff!

Six Tips to Improve Your Safety Conversations

I’m just not that into safety anymore

Push or Pull – It’s Not Your Fault – It’s a Norman Door!

What’s Your Resilience Profile?

Zero Discourse as Gobbledygook

The Conundrum in Discerning Risk

Tensions and Faultiness in Risk

SPoR Body of Knowledge – A Video

What is Critical Listening when Dealing with Risk?

Out of your (Unconscious) Mind

Abby Normal Safety

The Challenging Psychology of Ergonomics

SPoR Workshops Vienna 26-30 June

SOCD – Safety Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

It Works! A New Approach to Risk and Safety

Confirmity in Conformity

I’m Concerned That We Can’t See The Safety Forest For The Safety Trees

What is a Safety and Risk ‘Thinking Group’?

What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?

Risky Conversations Book Launch in Perth

Nothing is Learned Through Brutalism

What Can Halloween tell us About Safety?

Why Myths in Safety Work

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 7,516 other subscribers

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

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY?

What is Psychological Safety at Work?


WHAT IS PSYCHOSOCIAL SAFETY