Safety and Profitability:
Why They Must Coexist Within a Work Environment to Survive Each Other
It isn’t uncommon for small business owners, in particular, to forego certain safety measures in favor of profitability. In fact, some of the biggest names in their respective industries are often guilty of the same as well.
The decision to overlook OSHA workplace safety standards in favor of myopic profitability is a mistake from both a moral and a business perspective. In order to understand why productivity and safety must coincide in any workplace environment with safety hazards, we will now take a look at some of the key aspects that bind the two together.
Maintaining Safety Standards is Not Optional
The problem is not that small business owners and site managers do not understand that it’s illegal to not be up to the standards of safety set down by the federal and/or state government, it’s just that smaller establishments often believe that they are too little for the authorities to take notice if nothing ever happens.
The safety standards are set for a reason and even after employing every precautionary measure possible, accidents cannot be totally avoided, although they can be greatly reduced in occurrence and severity.
It is for this reason that an accident is inevitable and when it happens, the authorities will take notice. This could result in a variety of repercussions that range from being shut down, charged with ruinous lawsuits, facing prison time, paying huge fines, and more. As all of that goes directly against profitability, safety has to be a priority in order for even a small business to thrive in the long run.
A Safer Work Environment Makes Facilities More Productive
Setting aside the obvious legal repercussions, reduced accident rates via the implementation of adequate safety measures has been found to have the following effects on productivity.
- A higher rate of employee retention, reducing the cost of training new employees
- Boosted morale among the workforce, prompting better work output
- Fewer accidents mean fewer stops in the workflow; a single accident could close the site for days
Reputation is Extremely Important for Growth
In the B2B sector, bigger businesses are more likely to work with a well-reputed smaller company than associate themselves with any operation that isn’t legally compliant. This directly affects the chances of forming necessary partnerships to grow in size. Since the larger businesses have a lot more to lose, they will never jeopardize their reputation in favor of saving some money on small orders.
Making a Workplace Safer without Compromising Practicality is Possible
Through step-by-step assessment, planning and implementation of the OSHA workplace safety standards, Stronghold Safety Engineering provides SMEs with everything they need to make their workplace as safe and as compliant as required, while practically improving the long-term profitability of any worksite in the process.
It should be clear by now, as to why it is necessary for profits to thrive in a safe work environment; it just makes more sense from every perspective because no successful business is ever meant to be operated as a short-term gig.
