Construction jobsites require a steadfast commitment to safety to protect the physical and mental wellbeing of workers. Implementing safety leaderboards and fostering a culture of friendly competition can have a transformative effect on workers’ mental health and overall wellbeing. By utilizing safety leaderboards and encouraging healthy competition, employers can instill a sense of pride, camaraderie, and personal responsibility among workers, leading to improved safety outcomes and enhanced mental health.
Implementation Tactics:
Transparent tracking: Implement safety leaderboards that clearly display the performance and progress of individuals, teams, or departments in real-time. Make the leaderboards easily accessible and regularly updated to maintain engagement and momentum. Ensure that the metrics tracked align with the organization’s safety goals and priorities.
Recognition and rewards: Create a system of rewards and recognition to celebrate achievements and encourage participation. Acknowledge individuals or teams who consistently prioritize safety, demonstrate positive behaviors, and contribute to a culture of vigilance. Rewards can include monetary incentives, certificates of excellence, or additional time off.
Collaboration and knowledge-sharing: Encourage workers to share best practices, lessons learned, and safety tips with their peers. Foster a collaborative environment where workers support each other’s growth and development. Implement toolbox talks, safety meetings, or online platforms to facilitate communication and the exchange of knowledge.
Behavioral Science Principles:
Goal setting: Safety leaderboards leverage the principles of goal setting theory by establishing clear targets and objectives. Setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) safety goals helps motivate workers and directs their efforts toward continuous improvement.
Social comparison: Safety leaderboards tap into the social comparison theory, which suggests that individuals evaluate their own performance based on comparisons with others. By displaying the performance of individuals or teams, workers are motivated to enhance their own safety practices and strive for better results.
Intrinsic motivation: Foster intrinsic motivation by emphasizing the personal benefits and satisfaction that come from prioritizing safety. Encourage workers to develop a strong safety identity, where they see themselves as responsible leaders in creating a safe work environment.
Sources:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2016). Safety and Health Management Systems. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/shms
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (2017). The Effect of Safety Leadership Training on Safety Leadership Practices and Firm-Level Injury. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28166196/
Society for Human Resource Management. (2018). Creating a Culture of Safety in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/howtocreateacultureofsafety.aspx
Construction Executive. (2019). How Gamification Boosts Employee Engagement in Safety. Retrieved from https://www.constructionexec.com/article/how-gamification-boosts-employee-engagement-in-safety
The Journal of Safety Research. (2019). Employee involvement and safety performance in the construction industry: The moderating role of regulatory focus. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022437517306495
