Masonry Magazine June 2011 Page. 23
If the prime minister were another man, we may be speaking German today. He was Sir Winston Churchill. Perhaps his exemplary courage and speeches fostered the courage that actually won the World War II. When others may have stalled, quibbled and vacillated, or simply given in to the fear of Adolf Hitler, Churchill was resolved. One of his first acts after taking office was to create an additional position. He named himself as Minister of Defense.
In Churchill's first speech as prime minister, he said, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat," and later added "...we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
His attitude was showcased when he said, "Let us, therefore, brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."
Allow me to draw a few parallels from this bit of history to the subject of shifting an employee's attitude toward safety.
Leadership
A WORKFORCE never will develop a safe attitude unless and until it is supported and modeled from the top, down. Churchill was witnessed among the rubble and, himself, was a soldier and military leader before he became a national leader. Employees of a masonry company get a message from the top. What is that message? Is it production at any cost? Is it corner-cutting to make money? Are the owner(s) of the company unwittingly communicating to the employees that safety is second to production or saving money? In many cases, this is the case. The owners don't mean to communicate that message, but it's what the field hears, due to the volume of emphasis put on the respective subjects.
Even more influential is the supervisor in the field who is directly over the employees. The employees must answer to this person daily. Where is the volume of emphasis placed from day to day? Will he say more about the production needed or the safety that is needed? And, will he make allowances for "small" unsafe conditions, but not on production numbers? Consider what are the employees hearing, and the overwhelming body of information coming from the top. This message will determine how the employee's attitude is formed.
A workforce will not develop a safe attitude unless it is supported and modeled from the top, down.
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