The Psychology Behind Creating a Safety Culture by Developing Good Daily Routines.
Daily routines are something that we all have. We often find ourselves floating along day to day doing the same thing over and over again. Though sometimes, when we are feeling determined, we decide to change something about our routines for the better. Maybe it is eating healthier, choosing to spend more time with our kids, or, in this case, working safer. Being ambitious and trying to add a new routine to our days can often be difficult and rarely sticks because of 7 main factors. According to an article from developgoodhabits.com, there are 7 psychological factors that hold us back from adding new tasks to our daily routines.
- The Decision Fatigue Factor
This states that we are more likely to make thought out choices earlier in the day. As our day progresses, we become tired of making decisions and therefore are less likely to make good ones.
- The Cognitive Load Factor
This factor relates to how much thought goes into executing something. The more we need to think about the process of completing an activity, the less energy we’ll have to complete it.
- The Willpower Factor
Sometimes just getting through the day is all we can do, but our days don’t always start out that way. Typically, when we wake up, we have a bunch of energy or willpower to execute the tasks at hand. As the day goes on, our willpower depletes and so does our ability to accomplish new routines. Don’t try too much at once.
- The “What the Hell?” Factor
We all cheat when it come to new routines. We start out driven and then one day, we fall off the bandwagon. Then, we justify the downward spiral for the rest of the day, or maybe the rest of the week. We say, “What the Hell?” or “Why Not?” and cheat away. It’s in our nature to cheat, but we need to nip it in the bud immediately and get back on track.
- The Monkey Mind Factor
AKA getting off task. We all have those moments where we go to start something but make a split-second decision to, “just look at this one thing first.” That “one thing” often leads to another and then another until we find ourselves 2 hours later with nothing accomplished. We need to stick to the task at hand and save our Monkey Minds for the end of the day.
- The Non-Multitasking Factor
Multitasking is great for quantity but very rarely works when quality is the objective. In the case of establishing a new routine, our focus should be undivided. We must push all distractions aside, set a time limit to focus on the task at hand and give it our undivided attention.
- The Downtime Factor
Even though we may think it, we are not machines. We need some downtime to recharge and let our minds wander. By allowing ourselves downtime, we enable ourselves to regain the factors that drive us through the day.
Now how do these factors apply to safety culture? Think about your work environment. If a member of OSHA surprised you today with a visit, would you be 100% compliant? The answer is most likely, no. Why? With new regulations being added in regularly and the management of daily operations, we simply don’t have time to pay attention to everything and keep up. But, we must! We have to get ahead of it and put safety first.
So how do we do it? We need to add it to our daily routine and succeed at keeping it there. However, as we just learned, there are all these factors stacked against us, so are we just destined to fail?
The answer is no. Now that we are aware of what debilitates us, we have the upper hand. We can establish a process to put safety first and train our staff to execute these changes early in the morning when our employee’s minds are fresh. We need to encourage everyone to not fall habit to the “what the hell?” situations and stay focused on the task at hand. Most importantly we need to start at the base of the issue and climb up one step at a time from there.
If it sounds like a lot of work, it is. Luckily, Safety-Now’s mission is to help ensure that business’ like yours send team members home safely every day. We do this by providing your company with innovative products, services, and best practices designed to help you create a safety culture throughout your organization. This enables you to protect your workers, your brand, your physical assets, and your bottom line from the far-reaching effects of accidents. We operate by helping businesses realize their weaknesses in safety culture and develop a customized solution to get them compliant from the ground up.
We can’t guarantee that you won’t have to try hard to keep these best practices as part of your company’s daily routine. However, we can certainly take out the Cognitive Load Factor, and we’ll help you develop the execution plan. We’ll also check in to make sure you’re staying on top of it and help you every step of the way. Don’t fall victim of these bad habits. Make the choice to include safety as part of your daily routine today.