Challenges for Everyone to Promote Inclusion and Safety

OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week is here ! The goal of Safe + Sound Week is to encourage the introduction of more health and safety programs started while also re-energizing any existing programs that may be in place. Successful programs are crucial in proactively identifying and managing workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness, while simultaneously saving money and improving a company’s competitiveness. As promised, we will be posting ideas and example activities to help structure your very own Safe + Sound Week campaign that can be adapted to your specific office and workplace environment. These activities work to increase engagement and participation in your safety and health programs by getting managers and workers thinking about and discussing what safety on the job means to them.

Another activity to invoke engagement is company-wide challenges. Here we will outline an example:
All In challenge for everyone:

For any safety program to be effective it needs the participation of all workers, making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a safety issue. To inspire this participation it is vital to create an environment where all workers feel included, heard, and respected. Therefore, this challenge helps build a more diverse and accepting workplace so each worker can offer their unique perspective and experience that is needed to prevent workplace injuries and illness and find safety solutions.

There are many ways to acknowledge DEI in the workplace to promote safety and health, but here are a few options to pick from:

1. Celebrate diversity and employee differences
2. Establish a DEI committee to work closely with your safety & health committee
3. Diversify leadership to ensure workers feel represented
4. Ensure work groups and teams are diverse
5. Provide management with diversity training so workers feel supported and protected
6. Host employee listening sessions to create a culture of trust 
7. Develop and communicate DEI goals and measure progress
8. Consider time zone, job tasks, and work shifts when scheduling meetings or activities so everyone can participate
9. Provide opportunities for ongoing feedback
10. Provide materials in workers’ native languages and make them technology accessible to be inclusive

To learn more about this activity and find other discussion examples and graphics to plan and promote the safety campaign in your workplace, visit the Safe + Sound Week website at: https://www.osha.gov
/safeandsoundweek/plan-and-promote

DII is your partner in workplace health and safety. Our team of experts can work with you to understand how to plan activities for Safe + Sound Week and how to reach your workplace audience. Please contact your DII representative for more information.  #WorkplaceSafety #OSHA #Safe+SoundWeek