Health & Safety in Tough Times: Maintaining Healthy & Safe Work Environments During Economic Uncertainty

1 August 2024

Like flight turbulence, economic turbulence can be scary and upset even the coolest of cucumbers. In such circumstances, business leaders can feel like they have to make tough financial decisions to stay in the game. All too often, one of the key casualties of cost-cutting is health and safety. When budgets tighten, it's tempting to view your health and safety strategies as expendable, but this short-sighted approach is fraught with risks and potential dire consequences. 

So how can you ensure your work environment thrives and safety standards are maintained when resources are squeezed?

It’s no secret that the economy naturally moves through cycles, but this doesn’t mean that your  approach to health and safety should. In their inaugural State of a Thriving Nation report, The Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum highlights that while injury rates do rise and fall during economic cycles, it’s more likely that this is related to how companies approach health and safety during the boom and the bust than being inherent and unavoidable to the economic situation. 

Economic cycles introduce different risks that need to be dealt with effectively to reduce the surge of occupational injury. During a boom, companies can have an increase in inexperienced workers who need adequate training, while during a bust, layoffs and cost-cutting can intensify work for the remaining staff. If these risks aren’t mitigated accordingly, there can be a rise in workplace injury and harm. 

So why do so many companies still put health and safety on the back-burner during tough times? 

Business leaders can struggle to quantify the less obvious challenges their workers face, such as psychosocial risk. While mental health isn’t visible, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. In fact, 17% of workplace harm is accredited to mental health. Even though mental health in the workplace is becoming less “taboo,” we know it’s still systematically underreported, so we should assume that in reality the prevalence is much larger. 

To put it into practical context, an example is the psychosocial risk associated with layoffs resulting in more work for the remaining staff. If the job demands are suddenly not met by the job resources, workers can begin to feel the pressure to meet unrealistic KPIs.

In our recent webinar, "Psychosocial Safety Solutions: Building A Mental Health Strategy," Psychological Safety Solutions founder Conor Duffy pointed out the importance of checking in with your employees emotional and cognitive demands to avoid your team barreling towards collective burnout. It’s critical that leadership prioritises health, safety, and wellbeing during this time to protect the trust and psychological safety of their workers. 

A robust health and safety system that encompasses both physical and mental wellbeing ensures that employees have the resources to succeed at work. This not only benefits the workers but also extends to their families, friends, and community, as safe and healthy behaviours learned at work will be brought home and shared. A healthy and safe work culture fosters an environment where employees feel valued and protected, reducing absenteeism and enhancing overall productivity.

Particularly during tough times, business leaders can see WHS software as a luxury and fall into the temptation of reverting to manual systems. But throwing paper at the problem creates more issues than it solves. 

The risky business of relying on paper-based systems

While paper-based systems appear to save money, they can actually cost bigger bucks in the long run by ushering in risks that directly hinder a company's efficiency and safety compliance. 

Paper-based systems can lead to inconsistencies, especially when individual sites use different versions of documents. In the case of paperwork, less is more, because the more paperwork you have, the more room created for mistakes that may go unnoticed. 

This is an issue that became apparent to print and communications giant Bluestar in the quality management processes for their luxury visual outputs. 

Paper-based systems can take a lot of time and often can’t keep up with the demand of large companies. “It was all paper-based, a four-page document that someone had to fill in.”  QHSE Coordinator Carmorita Roebeck said of their pre-digital system. 

To maintain perfection for such a large customer base, a robust quality management system to streamline processes and maintain efficiency was required to keep up with Bluestar’s growth. The new rigorous digital quality management system not only nurtures a system of accuracy and care, but helps create more efficient workflows for individual team members. A clear sign that workflows have advanced is the increase in staff engagement. “If I talk to our teams, they’re all engaged.” Bluestar CEO Jill Cowling reported. 

What’s more, outdated or irrelevant documents can waste your workers valuable time and encourage them to avoid documenting important information, because it simply takes too long. 

Incorrect or incomplete paperwork brings a number of serious risks out of the woodwork, including evidence of a lack of due diligence, which can have real legal consequences and put not just the individual, but the entire company at financial risk. 

So how can you ensure you are upholding a healthy and safe work environment during economic turbulence? 

First off, don’t hesitate to tap into your health and safety vendor’s expertise. They’re there for more than just providing software—they’re a goldmine of advice on best practices and support strategies that can drive efficiencies when it’s needed most. Make them your go-to resource.

Working closely with your health and safety vendor can also mitigate a  long-term cost that is frequently overlooked: tech debt. 

What is tech debt? I hear you ask. 

Well, tech debt is where outdated software becomes increasingly expensive to maintain and upgrade. Keeping your WHS system current is a key method to avoid the burden of tech debt. 

Believe it or not, there are actually several ways your WHS system and vendor can help minimise long-term costs. For one, helping you prevent employee injuries and avoiding non-compliance penalties, but also positioning  your company to thrive when the economy rebounds. 

Working with your vendor to protect your workforce and uphold your company’s reputation ensures you have a safer, more robust foundation for growth, no matter the weather. This not only safeguards your current operations but also enables your company to adapt and innovate, securing a competitive edge in the market landscape.

2. Implement simple psychosocial strategies

It’s crucial that ensuing psychosocial risks are captured and straightforward psychosocial strategies are implemented. This means paying attention to the mental and emotional well-being of your employees and regularly assessing your workplace culture. Utilise a culture survey and build a healthy conversation to keep communication channels open. 

If an incident does occur, use the principles of psychological first aid. Psychological first aid is a topic Conor touched on in his webinar, and is endorsed by the Red Cross and The World Health Organization. It’s a practical way to support individuals who are experiencing distress in a respectful manner that protects all parties.

A psychological first aid system is also incredibly cheap to implement but can make a world of difference to your employees.

3. Communication is key

It’s critical to keep the communication channels open about potential workplace emotional and social struggles to ensure that less visible risks—like mental health—don’t become invisible. This slippery slope can lead to health and safety becoming about compliance—a ticking-the-boxes exercise that may fulfil the bare minimum but doesn’t set a workplace up well for a strong safety culture—rather than getting workers home happy and in one piece.

Sometimes, work is hard and there are always going to be tough periods. If you are in a leadership position don’t shy away from being open and honest with your team.  Embrace transparency and vulnerability—you will be surprised at the trusting and a positive culture you will foster within your team.  

Remember, you’re all in this together. 

Final words

Maintaining healthy and safe practices  during economic uncertainty isn’t just a matter of compliance; it's a strategic imperative that safeguards your workforce and ensures long-term sustainability. 

By prioritising both physical and mental wellbeing, businesses foster a safety culture that transcends economic cycles. This commitment not only mitigates risks but also positions companies for success when the economy rebounds. 

In the face of financial challenges, let health and safety remain a steadfast pillar of your operations, demonstrating to your employees and stakeholders alike that their wellbeing is at the heart of your business.