Can Organizations Increase Speaking Up About Safety Hazards Through Clear Communication by Leaders?

Employees, especially frontline workers, have an important role in preventing injuries. Leaders rely heavily on employees’ reports of hazards to take sufficient action to make working conditions as safe as possible. However, some employees may hesitate to raise concerns about safety (“safety voice”) because of potential conflict with management or fear of job termination.

In this CCAL funded study, Haskayne faculty member Nick Turner, Haskayne alumna Connie Deng, and their collaborator Sean Tucker from the University of Regina asked whether young workers (i.e., workers aged between 14 and 25) were less likely to raise concerns about safety compared to adult workers (workers older than 24). They also examined the clarity of supervisors’ commitment to safety. Eighty workers from the food service industry read a realistic description of an unsafe restaurant kitchen. Participants were also randomly assigned to one of two supervisory conditions. In one condition, the supervisor was depicted as someone whose commitment to safety at work was clear, whereas in the other condition, the supervisor’s commitment to safety was unclear. When the supervisor’s commitment to safety was unclear, adult workers preferred to keep silent about safety concerns more than young workers did. Interestingly, when the supervisor’s commitment to safety was clear, both age groups were willing to speak up about safety concerns.

These findings suggest that older workers could be more inclined to remain silent about hazards at work, especially if their supervisors do not clearly emphasize the importance of safety. Considering that the majority of the employees in the workforce are adult workers, this silence can be detrimental to the workplace. To avoid unwanted safety-related consequences, organizational leaders should prioritize clear messages about the importance of safety at work.