Safety Recognition and Reward Programs, Research Paper Example

This paper discusses the pros and cons of safety recognition and incentive programs. It defines a reward and safety recognition program, discusses possible peer pressure, and discusses the importance of employee engagement. Additionally, the determination of whether an employee safety program is beneficial to the corporation at large is discussed. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn as to the effectiveness of the incentive programs and whether the pros outweigh the cons.

An employee recognition program in regards to safety procedures is described as a reward system whereby if employees practice certain safety measures and/or report violations of safety procedures or safety safeguards are rewarded in a certain way by the corporation/company.  Employee incentive programs are set up in different ways.  One way in which these programs work is to reward employees on a point system (LaBar, 2015).  Under this scenario, an employee observes that one of his or her colleagues is violating a particular safety procedure.  That employee is rewarded by the company/corporation if he/she reports the incident to management.  A different kind of reward system grants points to the employee if he/she is not involved in any safety violations for a certain amount of time (LaBar, 2015).

Going forward with this discussion and having understood the basis of the safety incentive programs, there is an obvious con to the structure of these programs and reward systems.  Given the fact that employees are rewarded and thus encouraged to report violation of safety incidents, some ambitious employees may tend to feel the pressure to under-report safety violations (M.ehstoday.com, 2015).  This happens because they do not want to report a fellow employee that they have to work with side by side on a daily basis.  It is quite clear that this work situation would be uncomfortable to both the party who reported the incident and the party who was reported for violating safety procedures to management.  This is the problem with employee incentive programs that reward employees for reporting safety violations by other employees.

There is also an issue with an employee safety reward incentive program where employees receive points (or a deduction of points) if they keep a consistent record without safety violations for a certain period of time.  Some of these programs start out by giving the employee a given number of points.  In this reward system, the employee receives a deduction of points if he or she violates any of the company’s safety procedures.  This type of point system is ripe for under-reporting of safety violations (M.ehstoday.com, 2015).

However, the pros of having an employee reward/ incentive program far outweigh the cons.  Having a workforce that is safety conscious clearly helps both the employees and the company.  Employees are encouraged and required to practice safety in the workplace, and this results in less injuries and accidents.  Fewer injuries and accidents means that the company does not have to pay out safety related compensation claims and sick leave for employees who are injured at the workplace.

OSHA VPP encourages safety in the workplace an employee involvement by a serious of programs that are meant to create a safe working environment (Osha.gov, 2015).

A safe work environment decreases fatalities, injuries, and ultimately saves the company that becomes a VPP member company/corporation.  Reducing the number of accidents in the workplace is the most important goal for both employers and OSHA (Osha.gov, 2015).  OSHA is the leading government entity that is charged with making sure that companies comply with government safety regulations. It is the best interests of OSHA and member VPP companies to have a safe workplace and a safety conscious workforce.

A safety-first corporate culture is imperative and employee incentive programs are crucial in accomplishing this.  Employee safety and recognition programs are crucial in keeping employees safe and reducing cost in disability insurance and other claims related to injuries on the job. Although these incentive programs can cause possible conflicts among employees, in the form of peer pressure in order to maintain the statistics of the incentive program, the pros of these incentive programs far outweigh the cons. Research for this paper clearly indicates that these incentive programs go a long way towards keeping employees safe in this includes preventing fatalities. it is not only the issue of saving money on the part of the employer, but rather it is the issue of employees feeling confident that they are working in a safe environment and that the company that they are working for is concerned about their safety on the job.

These incentive programs provide the employees with the opportunity to report safety violations and related incidents to management for the purposes of receiving an award.  However, the employees generally want to work in a safe environment so whether or not they receive an incentive for doing so does not make difference.  An employee who observes a gross violation of safety procedures is obligated with or without incentives or rewards to report such incidents to management.   An employee should not have to be rewarded for doing his or her job.

Incentive programs are a great way to decrease the number of workforce safety violations, however, as research for this paper has shown and common sense dictates, there is a possibility of under-reporting of incidents.  Furthermore, these programs put employees under a serious amount of peer pressure because some employees might be inclined to take a report of a safety violation personally and this will cause enmity between that employee and the employee who reported the incident.

Although the issues just mentioned above do occasionally come up in the course of the administration of these safety reward and incentive programs, the overall opinion that can be formed about them is that they are positive for everyone involved.  The employer/company/corporation that initiates these reward and incentive programs has an excellent change of creating a safe working environment.  The employees have the opportunity to be recognized for going above and beyond the call of duty.

In conclusion, it is clear that employee incentive programs that reward employees for reporting safety violations are a positive addition to the company.  Employees, by human nature, are likely to be more conscientious on the job if they are rewarded.  Likewise, because of these incentive programs employers create a safety-first work environment.  This is an overall positive situation for both parties, and the general consensus that can be arrived at from the research on this topic suggests that employees do in fact take safety more seriously when there is a reward program in place even though safety is part of their everyday job description.  Encouraging employees to employ safe practices in the workplace appear to be more effective when an award/incentive program is in place.

References

LaBar, G. (2015). Safety Incentives. Ehstoday.com. Retrieved 17 November 2015, from http://ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_33368

M.ehstoday.com,. (2015). Safety Incentive Programs: What Works?. Retrieved 17 November 2015, from http://m.ehstoday.com/safety/incentives/ehs_imp_37145

Osha.gov,. (2015). Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs | OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). Retrieved 17 November 2015, from https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/vpp/