While these elements are certainly important, there is a growing recognition that this narrow focus may be hindering our ability to truly engage people and drive meaningful, sustainable change, and ultimately improve a business’ financial performance.
As discussed at a recent Tribe panel debate, Crystal Danbury, Director of Safety, Insurance & Occupational Wellbeing at a FTSE 100 company, raised the issue of the language used in the industry and how it can have a significant impact on how health, safety and wellbeing is perceived and prioritised within organisations.
Crystal says, “Safety is not about accidents, or zero anything. It’s about how people are harmed and how we understand those mechanisms of harm to prevent what is within our control.
“By changing language, we can stop talking jargon in our echo chambers and start talking to everyone else about how harm occurs, where it occurs, why it occurs, and make change.”
Crystal highlighted the challenge of the typical ‘compliance’ framing in health and safety: “The problem with the compliance-centric approach is that it can often feel impersonal, bureaucratic and disconnected from the real human experiences and needs of the workforce.”
She says, "Everybody is a health and safety junkie. The language has become so specialised and insular that it fails to resonate with the very people it is meant to serve. This is why it’s so important to talk about care.”
By fostering a culture of care and genuine concern for the wellbeing of employees, organisations can unlock tangible business benefits, such as improved operational reliability, productivity and overall performance.
Mark Ormond, Managing Director at Tribe, highlighted a critical disconnect in how organisations view the relationship between safety performance and business performance. He noted that "only 14 countries in the world have ever explored this link as an enabler."