Setting Realistic Safety Expectations

One of the key objectives associated with providing risk and hazard information is to help set realistic safety expectations. That is, the provision of safety and hazard information can form a realistic safety preview. Chapter 3 describes four different types of job applicant and described how the four types vary in terms of safety expectations and previous job experience. Job applicants classified as school leaver or career transition applicants will have the least amount of relevant job experience and are likely to have the most unrealistic safety expectations. Clearly, safety expectation setting procedures will be of most benefit to those job applicants. However, it would be unwise to forgo the use of a realistic safety preview, based on the assumption that the job applicant, because of their previous experience, would not benefit from the process. Tables 3.1 and 3.2, in Chap. 3, show that there are safety risks associated with aU job applicants, including career-focused applicants, and these can be reduced by providing a realistic safety preview. Thus, it is... 

Previously, in this chapter, I have described how cumulative job tenure can help develop realistic safety expectations. Clearly, the school leaver applicant has not had the opportunity to adjust their safe expectations based on previous work experience. However, educators and parents can play an important role in safety-specific expectation setting. Parents and educators can deliver key messages about workplace safety either informally as part of parenting or formally as part of the school curriculum activities. While parents may not have a legal responsibility to ensure their child s safety at work, as parents they do have a moral responsibility. School system education in occupational health and safety has been called for by a number of authors (e.g., American Public Health Association 1995 Bush and Baker... 

In my view, realistic safety information should form a specific section in a job description. Figure 3.1 is an example of what a safety section in a job description might look like. The acmal information in the safety section of a job description should be derived from a careful analysis of the job, from internal accident data associated with the job, and from global accident trends associated with the job. For the information to help with expectation setting, it needs to be as realistic (accurate) as possible. Furthermore, the organization should not distort or adjust the ratings based on their expectations of how safety management systems are likely to reduce the risks. 

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