Whether real or perceived, real-life pressure complicates decision-making every day.
These curveballs may be directly related to work – production demands, reliability concerns or time constraints. They can also stem from personal issues that inevitably follow us into the workplace.
Realistically, every one of us will face moments when the phrase “just this one time” creeps into our thinking.
Maybe it’s a quick walk between buildings and you decide the exposure doesn’t warrant a traffic vest.
Maybe it’s replacing one electrical component, and you convince yourself you can do it “hot.”
Maybe it’s a brief entry into a confined space, and the thought crosses your mind that you could probably skirt the policy.
Regardless of the task, the reasoning behind these shortcuts is rarely devious. The people closest to the work are often trying to balance competing priorities, and their intentions are usually good.
But this is exactly what we must defend against. Low frequency does not equal low impact. A shortcut that happens rarely can still lead to catastrophic consequences.
What culture really means
Culture is often defined as “how we do things around here.”
Not how things are written in policy. Not how things are discussed in meetings. But how things are actually executed – especially when no one is looking.
What leaders tolerate eventually becomes workplace culture. That’s why supervisors and leaders need to stay alert for subtle signals that shortcuts are becoming normalized.
Here are a few areas where the “just this one time” mindset commonly appears:
■ Accessing heights. Those locations where someone just needs to “check something quickly” still require proper protection. Fall protection systems or guardrails exist for a reason – even when the task seems minor.
■ Lockout/tagout. Electricity is unforgiving. It will seek every available path to ground – even if that path is you.
■ Machine guarding. You are not faster than rotating machinery. Guards exist because someone, somewhere, learned the hard way what happens without them.
■ Confined spaces. It’s a well-known fact that more rescuers die in confined spaces than the initial victims. When shortcuts happen here, the risk extends far beyond the individual making the decision.
The slippery slope
While shortcuts usually begin with good intentions, the results can be catastrophic.
Supervisors and leaders must keep this reality at the forefront as the work season ramps up. One tolerated shortcut may seem insignificant in the moment, but it subtly signals to the workforce that compliance is conditional.
And when compliance becomes conditional, culture begins to drift.
How leaders prevent shortcut culture
Organizations should expect the temptation of shortcuts. It’s part of human nature. The key is actively working to prevent them from becoming accepted behavior.
A few leadership practices make a major difference:
■ Reward what you want repeated. If leaders reward speed, they’ll get speed. If they reward safe execution, they’ll get safe execution.
People naturally align their behavior with what leadership notices and values.
■ Maintain tight tolerances. Leaders at every level must stay aware of what they are tolerating. Small deviations that go unaddressed today often become tomorrow’s “normal.”
■ Coach, don’t just correct. Anyone can point out something that’s wrong. That takes very little skill. The real leadership impact happens when we coach people on what right looks like and reinforce the behaviors we expect.
Final thought
As the construction season gets underway and activity increases, commit to holding yourself – and your teams – to a high standard.
Tolerated shortcuts rarely stay small. Over time, they transform into the new normal.
And culture, once it drifts, is far harder to rebuild than it was to protect in the first place.
Steve Fuller has worked over the past 20-plus years with a variety of industries – including aggregates – in operational and safety leadership roles. Now representing Steve Fuller Company, he can be reached at steve@stevefullercompany.com.
Related: Three daily habits that can reduce risk on every shift
