Workplace Injury: How Important is Your Supervisor?

Because of their day-to-day presence and close relationship with workers, supervisors have a significant influence on workplace safety performance.

Supervisors who encourage safe working practices, prioritise safety, provide tools and safety equipment, respond to safety concerns and reward for safe behaviour, see a decreased level of injury in their workplaces.

Their influence is so strong that they're possibly more important than formal health and safety policies and procedures in championing safe behaviour. In this article, we review Canadian research that surveyed 2,390 workers, to investigate the link between supervisors and managing hazards to reduce workplace injuries.