Of the one billion full time workers in the World, 87% report feeling ‘dissatisfied with their job’. Gallup Poll, 2017. Other than the loss in productivity and efficiency, inevitably these kinds of numbers would suggest that globally, workplace incidents and injuries must be very high.
The International Labour Organisation estimates that some 2.3 million women and men around the world succumb to “work-related accidents or diseases every year; this corresponds to over 6000 deaths every single day. Worldwide, there are around 340 million occupational accidents and 160 million victims of work-related illnesses annually”.
With nearly 9 in every 10 workers feeling disengaged and uninspired, how on earth can we expect to make a dent in these kinds of incident numbers any time soon?
Legislators and international bodies have recognised the intrinsic relationship that strong governance and an engaged workforce can have. At the very core of the New Zealand Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and ISO Workplace Health and Safety Standard 45001: 2018, is the requirement for businesses and organisations to have visibly felt leadership and a systematic strategy for driving worker participation.
The two are absolutely critical to turning the tide of preventable workplace harm.
However, as we already know, what’s written on paper is only as good as how it is understood and implemented by the people it’s designed to protect. It is going to require a different way of thinking and I believe, once government agencies, business leaders and worker associations are shown what is possible and how it can be achieved, we will see a demonstrable shift.
According to current projections, the global population will reach eight billion by 2024.
My aim: to influence 1 in 8.