• 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
    • 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 / Social Psychology of Risk / Why is fallibility so challenging in the workplace?

Why is fallibility so challenging in the workplace?

July 28, 2017 by Zoe Koskinas Leave a Comment

Why is fallibility so challenging in the workplace?

image

First article by Zoe Koskinas – I am sure she would appreciate some support and feedback. This article has also been published HERE

In a perfect world accidents do not happen, people do not make mistakes, and humans do not suffer- but we do not live in a perfect world. All you have to do is take a second and count how many insurance policies you have in your life. It is not uncommon for the average human to have car insurance, health insurance and/or life insurance.

When we take out these insurances we accept that living itself is not a guarantee, every moment that we are alive, we are fallible in what we do. Human life is not only finite but the everyday mistakes of humans test our attitude to learning.

So why is it that we go about human/personal growth within our jobs as if fallibility is a weakness and create no solicitude for mistakes? When anyone who has achieved anything great, anyone who has changed the world, has at some point made a choice to embrace their flaws instead of fighting them.

Richard Branson an entrepreneur, who is a recognised authority when it comes to life and business strategy said “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over” When considering this, do we embrace risk and adventure in our private lives but not in our work lives?

When there is an incident in the workplace, it is often associated with the person being inevitably stupid, lazy or unable to handle pressure. This is the type of discourse that paints a picture of fallibility as a weakness. Which in turn embeds an ideology of perfectionism, an ideology that understands its own success by the absence of human error and therefore promotes the fear of uncertainty.

Take children for example, recently some schools have banned playing tag or any running games in the playground because they are fearful the children might clash into each other and hurt themselves.

This begs me to ask the question- is it that the more we protect ourselves, the more fallible we become?

If children are banned from running around the playground, how can they learn the joys of being a kid? To look out for one another, to work in teams, to say sorry if we “touch or bump into another human”.

If these children are bound to nonphysical activity, then how do we attempt to address that one-quarter of all Australian children, or around 600,000 children aged 5–17 years, that are overweight or obese? When our children will be too afraid to put their joggers on.

As we grow into adults in the workplace, if we fear the uncertain, we are less inclined to communicate with others on topics that challenge the status quo, the type of conversations where development happens. This therefore makes us reluctant to take risks, to learn and to grow.

Think about all the times we acted in a particular manner or presented to colleagues in a way that was “safe”, or gave answers to questions anticipating what the other person wants to hear. Or hid a safety incident because it would reflect badly on the “Zero LTIs”

If we were to attend a job interview and we were asked the cringe worthy question of “What do you think your biggest weakness is?” Are we inclined to respond with; “I am human, I am fallible” or “Oh you know, I tend to be a perfectionist sometimes.” This is just one of many examples where we want to portray to other people, especially professionally or in relationships that we have it all together, almost as if we are superman or wonder woman.

We naturally act this way as humans because we have come to believe that if we portray ourselves as faultless, that people will accept us and treat us with greater respect. If this is the case, why is it that psychologists associate perfectionism with mental health disorders yet some of us associate with it, as if it is admirable, as if we are invincible and anyone else must be weak?

Which employer would want to hire someone who never makes a mistake?

It may help employers to be clear, that most of the great achievements have been caused, not by people being fundamentally good or bad, right or wrong, strong or weak, but by people being fundamentally people.

To understand this, we should first ask ourselves the question; how many times do you want to be wrong before you finally accept that you’re not flawless?

I have come to realise that at the same time I have made a mistake, is exactly when the wisdom and self-awareness is growing inside of me. I have made errors, I have caused hurt, I have cried and made people cry, I have misjudged myself and situations. But the only short-coming in this, is to think that I won’t continue to make mistakes and I can only hope to not repeat the same mistakes.

Because if fallibility didn’t exist then we would get everything right the first time. There would be no trial or error, there would be no mistakes and everything could be done with seemingly minimal effort. That would take away any sense of achievement that we would ever feel as well as most of the meaning from our lives.

So as I continue to live my life as an imperfect human, it is when I am in my moments of great success and pride, is when I will remember that sitting inside of me is the vulnerable self that is waiting to make her appearance at any time.

It is in this space that I have learnt that my mistakes have shaped and contributed to my achievements and success and I must embrace the fallible side in me as much as I embrace the wisdom in me.

I encourage you to ask yourself, since when did you want to stop being human?

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More About Zoe

Zoe Koskinas

Latest posts by Zoe Koskinas (see all)

  • Why is fallibility so challenging in the workplace? - July 28, 2017
My personal ontology is based around one of social relationships, conversations and ambiguity This is passionately lived through the way I work. I help create new conversations about our industry, invested with a new type of purpose.

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: Social Psychology of Risk, Workplace Safety Tagged With: fallibility

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 7,499 other subscribers

RECOMMENDED READING

viral post – iso 45003 and what it cannot do

Introduction to SPOR – FREE!!

Psychosocial Safety and Mental Health Series

Not Just Another ‘Hazard’

Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?

How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety

ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do

The KISS of Death in Safety

Behavioural Safety is NOT a Foundation for Tackling Psychosocial and Mental Health

The Worst Approach to Psychosocial Problems is an Attitude of ‘Fixing’

The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health

Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)

No Good Reason to Follow Reason

More Posts from this Category

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

Recent Comments

  • simon p cassin on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • Hurak Learning on How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety
  • Rob Long on An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Paul Gentles on An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Brent Charlton on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Rob Long on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Brian Edwin Darlington on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Brian on The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Jaise on The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Rob Long on Posture Myths and Holistic Ergonomics
  • Linda McKendry on Posture Myths and Holistic Ergonomics
  • Rob long on Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • Matt Thorne on Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • Anonymous on Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • Jason on How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Rob Long on How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Admin on How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Rob Long on 400,000 Free Downloads
  • Gustavo Saralegui on 400,000 Free Downloads
  • Rob long on To Err is Human, You Better Believe It

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
  • Proving Safety
  • Free Safety Moments and Toolbox Talk Examples, Tips and Resources
  • Road Safety Slogans 2023
  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do
  • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • NATIONAL SAFETY DAY/WEEK IN INDIA 2023
  • 15 Safety Precautions When Working With Electricity
  • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators

Recent Posts

  • Not Just Another ‘Hazard’
  • Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety
  • Free Download – Real Risk – New Book by Dr Robert Long
  • Proving Safety
  • ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do
  • Harming People in the Name of Good
  • An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Risk and Safety Maturity
  • The KISS of Death in Safety
  • SPoR, Metanoia and a Podcast on Change with Nippin Anand
  • Behavioural Safety is NOT a Foundation for Tackling Psychosocial and Mental Health
  • The Worst Approach to Psychosocial Problems is an Attitude of ‘Fixing’
  • SPoR Comes to Vienna June 2023
  • The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • The Visionary Imagination – Louisa Lawson
  • Heaven ‘n Hell and the Safety Religion
  • Confirmity in Conformity
  • Numerology and Psychic Numbing
  • Thinking of Mortality
  • Safety is the Wrong Anchor
  • Foresight Blindness, Hindsight Bias and Risk
  • Getting the Balance Right in Tackling Risk
  • What is SPoR?
  • How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Afraid to Let Go of What Doesn’t Work in Safety
  • When You Don’t Know What to do in Safety, Have Another Blitz!!!
  • Gloves and Glasses Compliance
  • A Case of Desensitisation – What Would You Do?
  • How to Leave the Safety Industry
  • The Mythic Symbology of Safety
  • Dark Waters, The True Story of DuPont and Zero
  • 400,000 Free Downloads
  • Am I stupid? I didn’t think of that…
  • Don’t Look Now Safety, Your Metaphor is Showing
  • Ratio Delusions and Heinrich’s Hoax
  • To Err is Human, You Better Believe It
  • Culture as a Wicked Problem, for Safety
  • Safety Leadership Training
  • Cultural Orientation in Risk
  • The Stanford Experiment and The Social Psychology of Risk
  • Objectivity, Audits and Attribution When Calculating Risk
  • Records of safety activities: evidence of safety or non-compliance?
  • Zero, The Seeking of Infinity
  • Safety Leadership Essentials
  • What Can Indiana Jones Tell Us About Culture
  • Safety as a Worldview
  • The Loathing of Limits
  • Culture Cannot be Framed Through Safety

VIRAL POST!!! HOW TO QUIT THE SAFETY INDUSTRY

FEATURED POSTS

Social Psychology of Risk Workshop-Sydney

Sticks and Stones and the Nonsense of Zero Harm

By What Method?

I was just trying to Help

Rhythms, Musicophilia and Safety

We can Value Safety but Safety is not a Value

Why Resilience Cannot be Engineered

Study at The Centre for Leadership and Learning in Risk

Social Sensemaking – Book Launch Dates & Venues Confirmed

Safety in Design as if Humans Matter

I’m biased, but that’s ok!

Free Online Workshops

The Language of Priorities

The Disembodied Human and Persons in Safety

Symbols Have Power

Hoodwinked by Heinrich

Safety is not Just a Choice

When ‘Hearts and Minds’ are not ‘Hearts and Minds’

Making Sense of Semiotics and Safety

Safety Aphorisms and Platitudes

Intuitional Ways of Knowing in Safety

Free Download – Real Risk – New Book by Dr Robert Long

And the Innovation is? More Controls…..

7 Incredible Ways To Diagnose Risk More Effectively

The Common Sense Fallacy

Making Language in Safety Meaningful

Trinket Safety

The Real Barriers to Safety

The Mystery and Paradox of Being an Individual in a Social World

Free Two Chapter Download and Book Competition

Learning Styles Matter

Sanctimonious Safety

Concept Mapping Risk iCue

History and Safety

Envisioning Risk in Canada

Keep Your Head In the Game

It’s not weird – it’s a psychological safety initiative!

SPoR and Disposing of Bad Myths

Understanding Conscience and Safety

Vision Can’t Come from Safety Compliance

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 7,499 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