Is Safety Sexy?…… and other questions of the Universe!

With the new year, it’s a good time to reflect on the past 6 months since the announcement of The Safely Working Project.  It’s been an extremely busy time as what started out as a concept over 12 months ago has grown into a fully developed program and system focused on employees and supervisors Safely Working 100% of the time.  Not that it was all created in that time, because so much of it is derived from notes and content I developed over the past 25 plus years.

There are moments I wonder if it’s worth the continued investment of time and money.  If Facebook and LinkedIn “Likes” and “Followers” were used as a bellwether I’d be a greeter somewhere.  Yet, the “Introducing The Safely Working Project Tour” this past fall suggested otherwise.  Presentations and conversations were all positive and feedback encouraging.  As a result, I continue to be very excited and passionate about the Project.

However, my passion alone is not enough to promote The Safely Working Project to the level I’m targeting.  The challenge is two-fold.   The first is to prepare an effective message.  That’s within my control.  The second is to develop a receptive audience.  There’s the rub as it’s mostly outside of my ability to control.  Why is that?

A good catchy message should generate interest and with some work, propagate itself if it’s meaningful and helpful.  Unfortunately, it’s not that simple as there is a substantial perception issue to transcend.  In reality, safety is not very exciting.  Not only that, safety is anathema for some employers.  I’m not saying they are against being safe.  They are rightly or wrongly biased against what “safety” represents to their business operation.  Just mention OSHA to an employer.  That’s what they think when you talk about “Safety.”  I don’t believe there’s enough smoke and mirrors to change that perception.

Consequently, I need to concentrate on the message.  More than that, I must dissociate The Safely Working Project from the maligned perception of “Safety.”  To tell the truth, that has been part of the design from the beginning.  The Safely Working Project is focused on employees and supervisors using the active ingredients in the Safety Stew including training and leadership.  (Take a minute and read this post.)

“Safety” has traditionally been trickle down…..lots of responsibility resting on just a few. But everyone has responsibility for Safely Working.  That’s why The Safely Working Project is about “Safely Working from the Ground Up!”  That’s our message.  We will continue to make the case for Safely Working 100% of the Time.

Oh, by the way…… the answer is no, safety is not sexy.   We’ll have that talk another day.

(Originally published 1/5/15)