CEO of Frog portfolio company Evotix, Matthew Elson, has recently penned a thought leadership piece outlining why following the rules doesn’t always guarantee a safer working environment.
When going into more detail about safety within the workplace, Matthew spoke about how rules and correct protocols do play a critical part in workplace safety. However, he proposes that this cannot be the only factor contributing to ensuing full safety for the workforce.
This is because employees are only making choices that are based on regulations alone and nothing else, as they don’t want to run the risk of consequences, which could end up doing more harm than good.
Matthew suggests that rules don’t always help you to make the right choices since they only provide guidance on what is right and wrong – but not every situation is ‘black and white’. “The problem is,” he says, “if following the rules means people are right, then many end up assuming that any behaviour that isn’t breaking regulations is absolutely fine.”
It’s a very risky viewpoint to have as if there is purely a focus on rules (particularly in health and safety), there is a chance that decisions are not 100% safe, but more focused on what’s allowed within company policy.
Rules and procedures are important, but they cannot be the whole story and businesses need to set rules as a baseline that can be adaptable.
Read more about Matthew’s insights and how Evotix has been developing health and safety management software solutions that enable clients to provide their employees with an accessible process to manage health and safety here.
