Five Hazardous Attitudes in the Workplace

Keep Your Attitude in Check

Your workplace will provide a variety of training programs to help you avoid and know what to do in the case of emergencies, for example, fire safety training, but how you conduct yourself in your workplace also makes a big difference to the likelihood of a dangerous situation occurring. “The Five Hazardous Attitudes” are the source of most on-the-job incidents. These attitudes, Anti-Authority, Impulsivity, Invulnerability, Macho, & Resignation, often lead to poor judgment and risk assessment. Properly evaluating the situation, including its risks, is vital to ensuring a safe work environment. These attitudes often pop up in everyday life, aviation, the military, and construction. Everyone from ventilation contractors to each worker is responsible for having the right attitude to ensure workplace safety. These attitudes are especially dangerous, because not only could they lead to the injury of colleagues, they could also lead to lawsuits that could be costly to the company or individual workers. When a worker is in an accident at work and they feel someone else is at fault, they are entitled to consult a lawyer, like Keating O’Gara Law (keatinglaw.com), and seek compensation from the business. So, it is best to be on the lookout for these hazardous behaviours to avoid that.

Learn the Five Hazardous Attitudes and be ready for them.

1. Anti-Authority:

People who don’t want to be told what to do share the anti-authority attitude. They may think that “No one can tell me what not to do”. They may be resentful of having someone trying to tell them what to do and may regard rules, regulations, and procedures as unnecessary or silly. While it is one’s prerogative to question authority and look for errors, doing so constantly, and without looking for other solutions, can lead to trouble.

When a construction worker has an anti-authority attitude, it can lead to major incidents. Tie-off regulations seem excessive, caution signs seem arbitrary, and personal protection equipment appears to gets in the way. The very real hazards of falls, crushing, punctures, etc. are ignored for the sake of convenience or expediency. They are justified with an anti-authority attitude as they might tell themselves that the rules don’t apply in this given circumstance and that they can get away with disregarding them.

Psychological stressors are probably the most common cause of allowing antiauthority traits to run amok. When there is a strong need to get the job done or to get somewhere quickly, one may feel justified in bending the rules. When antiauthority attitude overwhelms good judgment, the danger zone is close by.

2. Impulsivity:

People who frequently feel the need to do something, anything, immediately often fall victim to this attitude. They don’t stop to think about what they’re about to do and fail to think if they should be doing it. They often don’t select the best alternative but instead, do the first thing that comes to mind.

Often, the need to react quickly is necessary in response to a changing situation but there are times when it may lead to trouble. Making a leap from one area to another, or moving a ladder with someone on it are just a few examples. Lightning-quick responses are essential to safety and survival in some circumstances, but in most situations, including many emergencies, it’s better to take some time to sort things out before committing to a course of action.

3. Invulnerability:

The third of the five hazardous attitudes is invulnerability. Many people feel that accidents happen to those around them, but not to themselves. They may be smart enough to know that accidents can happen to anyone at any time, but they never really feel or believe that they will be personally involved. People with this mindset are more likely to increase their risk by taking chances.

A built-in sense of invulnerability originates as a survival mechanism. It allows people to cope with the prospect of injury or death. If everyone believed they would be injured constantly, we would never have left the cave.

People see bad things happening to others so they feel that as long as they make the “right” decisions, they will be fine. Of course, not every incident is a result of bad decision making; that’s why they’re called accidents. The feeling of invulnerability should be balanced against an equally strong sense of caution.

4. Macho:

“Macho” is all too common in the construction field. Workers often try to prove that they are better than one another. People with this attitude want to prove themselves and will do so by taking risks in order to impress others. While this pattern is thought to be a male characteristic, women are equally susceptible.

Confidence sometimes exceeds ability. When there is a strong desire to accomplish a goal, people fool themselves into believing that they can do something that is actually stretching the limits of their abilities.

People with a hazardous macho attitude feel the need to continually prove that they are better than others. Foolish chances like carrying too much or driving too fast are done to demonstrate their superior ability. Keeping this attitude in check, and acknowledging limits, is important for the safety of everyone. Being injured while taking a stupid risk is worse than some perceived evaluation of strength.

5. Resignation:

People who think, “What’s the point?” do not see themselves as being able to make a great deal of difference in what happens to them. They are apt to think that it is good luck when things go well, and bad luck when things go poorly. This person might leave action and decision making to others and figure safety is all a matter of chance.

Deciding that there is no more that can be done or that the safety plan is “good enough” can become hazardous when an individual gives up in the face of difficult situations. Placing everything in the hands of fate can lead to overlooking very clear and obvious risks. The expression “tempting fate” is apt in these circumstances. Things will happen, but it is important that everyone does everything in their power to prevent them from happening more than they should.

Changing The Five Hazardous Attitudes

Physical and physiological stressors can have a huge influence on a person’s perceived limits. When a person is feeling tired, sick, or overwhelmed, they may take on one of the 5 hazardous attitudes. They may not even recognize that they are compromising workplace safety. It might be time to hold a meeting and discuss these safety meeting topics. The chart below details the five hazardous attitudes as well as antidotes for them. Safety is the first priority on every job, and avoiding bad attitudes is the first precaution to creating a safe work site.

Five Hazardous Attitudes