A recent nationwide survey, the State of Safety, conducted among Angus Reid Forum members for the non-profit Threads of Life, reveals that 49% of Canadian business leaders identify lack of training time as the principal barrier to improving workplace health and safety.
This challenge is pervasive across businesses of all sizes and sectors, particularly among large enterprises, where 55% acknowledge this issue.
The survey, released to coincide with National Safety and Health Week from May 6 to May 11, underscores understaffing as a significant obstacle.
Shirley Hickman, Executive Director of Threads of Life, stated: “As we mark national Safety and Health week, this survey offers a good news/bad news set of results. The good news is that lots of people reported having good programs in place at their companies.”
From Feb. 26 to March 11, 2024, the survey engaged 1,024 business owners, managers, and decision-makers, unearthing several key insights:
- Confusion over safety regulations is a notable issue for 43% of medium-sized firms, with over a third of smaller and larger businesses echoing this sentiment.
- Seventy-four percent of respondents have safety training protocols, though this is less prevalent in smaller firms and micro-businesses, with only 59% of the latter reporting such measures.
- A third of participants view health and safety regulations as costly with limited benefits, and nearly a quarter believe workplace accidents are an inevitable business expense.
- Understaffing not only hampers training efforts but also increases accident risks, particularly in medium and large companies.
“We are not safety experts, but because of their own experience with tragedy, our members have an intense personal interest in workplace health and safety. We are deeply committed to preventing future tragedies,” said Hickman, who lost her own son in an explosion at the arena he worked at in London, Ont.
“At Threads of Life we always believe that one death, one injury, one illness is too many. We all need to do better for the safety of our workers.”
The survey findings highlight the ongoing need for strong employer and employee commitment to safety, a cornerstone of the ongoing National Safety and Health Week, which aims to draw attention to injury and illness prevention in workplaces and communities.
The Association for Workplace Tragedy Family Support, known as Threads of Life, assists over 3,600 Canadian family members affected by workplace fatalities, life-altering injuries, and occupational diseases.