Accredited Experts Weigh in on Achieving Operational Efficiencies, Risk Management and KPI Reporting as Key Drivers of Health and Safety in the Workplace

LONDON – 31 January 2023 – Evotix, the world-leading environment, health, safety (EHS) and well-being software company, today released its predictions for emerging trends that will shape the health and safety industry in 2023 and beyond.

“It often takes a health and safety incident to make businesses sit up and listen – all too often, that’s still the sad reality of EHS,” said Langdon Dement, global EHS advisor. “We frequently see businesses struggling to get EHS right and yet risks are inherent everywhere.”

Evotix’s team, consisting of environmental, health and safety experts, studied workplace audits and inspections, pored over the latest research from leading analyst and government groups and assessed incidents in the workplace to uncover the five most notable trends:

Making Safe Operations Part of Your Business Mantra – Organizations will increasingly treat safety as a core component of effective operations. In the modern workplace, effective operations depend on engaged, motivated and proactive employees. In 2023, organizations will prioritize a culture where employees are more educated about safety practices and empowered to help improve health and safety within the workplace, starting at the top. Organizational leaders should communicate health and safety procedures, encourage reporting of health and safety concerns and recognize tasks employees perform correctly.

Incorporating Health and Safety from Day One – Organizations incorporating safety from the onset are ahead of the competition and help improve business performance. EHS professionals must find a way to collaborate across departments and ensure a safety expert takes part in launching any new line, build or activity. Ultimately, this blended approach engages employees and saves the organization time, effort and money because workers better meet safety demands.

Helping Workers Break the Habit – Humans often repeat the same behaviors throughout life without thinking much about them – even if they’re harmful. The same applies to the workplace. We often don’t follow logic and repeat these risky behaviors daily, whether it’s working at height without fall protection equipment or quickly running into the manufacturing facility without PPE because it’s easier and more convenient than putting on the appropriate ensemble. And, because people often have a “this won’t happen to me attitude,” they are lulled into a false sense of security. As a result, these poor decisions contribute to millions of workplace accidents, injuries and deaths annually. To break these habits, health and safety professionals need to stop thinking these actions are irrelevant because the risk is minimal. They need to start addressing and solving why workers habitually take these health and safety risks and what needs to change to end the pattern.

Improving Work-Life Integration – With hybrid environments here to stay, employers are focused on providing employees with more work-life integration to retain and attract talent. In 2023, mental well-being will play a more significant role in the hybrid workplace. Leaders will embrace workplace flexibility versus a rigid work environment to ensure employees have more time to take care of personal activities, keeping stress at a minimum.  In addition, organizations will provide employees with more safety and health training. Not only is it essential for employees to know their health and safety are a priority, but it’s helpful to review policies, present updated procedures and go over incident reporting. Finally, organizations will offer employees more wellness options such as a meditation app, mindfulness training or time throughout the workday to exercise or take a mental break. The more employees feel engaged, the more productivity improves, resulting in higher revenue, a more positive work culture and a healthier, safer workplace.

Aligning KPIs for Performance and ESG Reporting – Whether it’s safety inspections or incidents or establishing corrective and preventative strategies, safety KPIs are a critical element to an organization’s effectiveness. With the introduction of new data intelligence tools, EHS will gain more insight to provide teams with actionable steps to improve health and safety across the organization. The same analytical tools can help leaders stay on top of regulatory requirements, investigate all incidents and enable more in-depth tracking of lagging and leading indicators and KPIs. Organizations can pull reports and manage assessments of jobs and activities for regulatory authorities, like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

For more health and safety trends from Evotix’s team of expert contributors, read the top safety tips for 2023 here or listen to the podcast “Two Bald Guys Talking Safety.”