Safety, Safety, Safety
During these challenging and unprecedented times, leaders everywhere are relooking at how they conduct their business in the short-term, as well as in the future.
As CEOs and government leaders explore paths to re-open our economy, there is a lot of talk of the importance of physical safety. Appropriately, they believe they have to ensure their employees’ physical safety as best as possible and then ensure the safety of their customers. Supermarkets have been on the front end of this as they have stayed open during the pandemic and have been working real time to enhance employee and customer safety.
Physical safety in the workplace is not new. If you work in manufacturing, most companies put a premium on physical safety and not just in the manufacturing facility.
In 2014, I got engaged with a prospect who became a client, SABIC Innovative Plastics. The first time I visited, I was received in the lobby by an executive and led to the executive offices. As we went up a wide staircase, the executive asked me to hold the railing. I was surprised by the ask. He informed me they take physical safety in the workplace seriously.
Since that time, I consciously hold the railing when I navigate steps. This has been a welcome practice in my life as I have big feet, size 13, and have been known to move quickly on steps and have on multiple occasions slipped due to the size of my feet in contrast to the size of the steps. (Thank you SABIC Innovative Plastics for teaching me how to care for myself better with such a simple gesture.)
While I’m thrilled businesses today are taking physical safety seriously, my question becomes: Why just focus on physical safety?
In real estate there is an axiom which states the three most important things in real estate are Location, Location, Location. The implication is location is so important, it’s stated three times to emphasize the point.
Safety, Safety, Safety
I believe the axiom in the workplace should be Safety, Safety, Safety. Not repeating three times to emphasize the point, but rather each one having a different meaning.
Most leaders want the same things: for employees to be productive and effective, which further enables the company to be successful and profitable. However, I believe many leaders go about it the wrong way.
Yes, physical safety is important. And, as the SABIC Innovative Plastics executive pointed out to me, physical safety applies to everyone in the organization. But if we only focus on physical safety, we’re missing a key element to the overall success of the organization.
I believe leaders need to be concerned and focused on creating a culture and organizational environment where there is a focus on physical safety, emotional safety and mental safety. They are all interconnected.
You can’t be physically safe if you are not emotionally safe. You can’t be mentally or intellectually safe if you don’t feel physically safe. And you certainly aren’t going to be emotionally safe if you don’t feel mentally safe.
If we want our people to do their best work, be productive and effective, they need to be physically, emotionally and mentally safe.
In 1943 in a paper titled, “A Theory of Human Motivation” Abraham Maslow shared his psychological view of humans Hierarchy of Needs. Of the five layers of needs, Safety is the second foundational layer after Physiological needs. His theory states lower-level needs must be met before moving onto higher pursuits. This theory implies, accurately I believe, if safety needs aren’t met, we can’t and won’t do our best work, which is ultimately what employers want.
Therefore, in order to reach those higher levels of needs that produce the results we desire, I believe it is the leaders’ responsibility at every level to ensure their employees have the physical, emotional and mental safety to do their best work.
And, if all three are not present for an individual, don’t be surprised when they don’t do their best work.
This reminds me of a story. A reporter asked a renown European conductor what he does when his orchestra isn’t practicing well. He responded, “First, I put z-baton down, walk off z-stage, go down into z-dressing room and look in z-mirror. If the problem isn’t in z-mirror, I go back up on stage and work on z-orchestra.”
I find that this story so perfectly illustrates my point. If your team isn’t performing up to their capability, the leader (might that be you?) should first look in the “z-mirror” to see if there is something about how they are leading which is impacting employee performance. I’d bet more times than not, it’s z-leader. If a team is underperforming, it’s likely because the leader hasn’t created a safe physical, emotional and mental environment.
Physical safety is the belief that I’m physically safe, and I’m protected physically in my work environment.
Emotional safety is the belief that I’m emotionally safe. This means many things, such as it's ok to have my emotions in the workplace so long as they don’t infringe on another employee’s safety or get in the way of the job to be done.
Mental safety is that I believe I work in an environment where I can freely share my work-related thoughts and ideas without fear of retribution or marginalization.
As we move into the next phase of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, leaders must put physical, emotional, and mental safety first. We must have our eye and attention on creating a culture of Safety, Safety, Safety—not just for the short-term but for the long-term as well. Ensuring an environment of physical, emotional and mental safety will transform how your team works and performs, and the results they produce are bound to surprise and delight you.