Three in four business leaders (78 per cent) agree that good health and
safety standards are beneficial to their organisation, according to new
research published by the HSE to coincide with the launch of its new strategy.
According to the survey — which questioned 200 senior company managers or owners, and 1000 employees in online interviews — 69 per cent of company bosses agree that the costs to their organisation of providing a safe working environment are less than the costs of dealing with a health and safety incident.
Moreover, nine out of ten bosses view people as their most important asset — a figure closely matched by the finding that 85 per cent of workers view a healthy and safe working environment as important to them as employees. This suggests that health and safety can act as a driver of employee satisfaction and morale.
While the vast majority of bosses (87 per cent) believe that the most effective way to improve health and safety practices is for senior management to show leadership on this issue, a third of business leaders (36 per cent) believe that inspections should be increased.
However, despite the business community’s general support for good health and safety as a commercial benefit, one in four leaders admits that their organisation will face pressure to cut the health and safety budget owing to recessionary pressures. In addition, only half of business leaders (47 per cent) state that health and safety is at the centre of their business.
The survey also found that myths surrounding health and safety are believed by business leaders and employees alike. Wearing flip flops to work is erroneously believed to be banned by one in four heads of business and three in ten employees. Similarly, three in ten senior managers (32 per cent) and employees (31 per cent) incorrectly think that children are currently banned from playing with conkers.
But when it comes to the serious matter of workplace deaths and injuries, both groups surveyed vastly underestimated the figures. On average, senior managers and employees think that 3000 people were killed or seriously injured at work last year, when, in fact, the true number is 137,000 — more than 45 times higher.
Commenting on the survey and the launch of the strategy, Work and Pensions secretary, James Purnell, said: “There are too many clichés about the role of ‘health and safety’ in our society. But amid ridiculous myths about banning donkey rides and flip flops, the fact is that too many people are still needlessly killed or injured. . . The new HSE strategy recognises that a significant challenge now faces everyone with a stake in health and safety.”
Added HSE chair, Judith Hackitt: “Our new strategy shows the way towards a common-sense attitude to health and safety. As regulators, our approach to businesses will be proportionate to the risk they present and their approach to managing it. We are calling on employers and business-owners to take the lead themselves in preventing the thousands of deaths every year that are caused by work. It is their moral and legal duty, and it is good for business.”
