Picture yourself in the middle of a safety-related presentation when the company owner barges in interrupting your training and with loud and profane protestations pulls one of the participants out.  His explicit message to you and all in the room is simple – “we’re too busy for this …. (let your imagination fill in the blank) right now.  We’ll do this safety stuff when we have free time.”  

With these words, he walks out and leaves you to deal with the aftermath, which includes the following issues (this list is by far not exhaustive):

1. Clear communication of the attitude of total disregard for safety from the top management;
2. Personal humiliation;
3. Devaluation of your efforts, which effectively undermines your authority and any attempts to build a positive safety climate – the very things which you were hired to do in the first place.

 We could spend time here focusing on whether these types of things really still happen today or on why an organization would shoot itself in the foot by undermining the same safety program which is responsible for the majority of its new contracts, etc.  Instead of all this, however, we WILL FOCUS on figuring out the WAY FORWARD in hostile safety environment.  What are the best things you can do when you want to do the right thing but find yourself crippled by your surrounding circumstances?

 First, you do the right thing as a safety professional and document everything in the process.  I know I’m not revealing anything new or profound here, but sometimes we all need to be reminded of the simple basic steps.  Keep copies of written communication, follow up verbal communications with restatement emails, which allows them to be documented, etc.  Some battles are simply not worth fighting as long as you have documented your intent/recommendation to do the right thing.

Second, continue to communicate with the top management of your organization.  Seize the right moments and be prepared at all times to state your case accurately, concisely, and convincingly.  Sooner or later, you will get through and changes will come, even if ever so slightly.

 Third, do not forget the simple fact that there are two ways to bring about the organizational change: top down and bottom up.  So, irrespective of your success or failure with top management, educate and empower every employee, from the lowest levels, on the personal value of safety.  Help them see that safety is not one more program that they must follow, but a way of life that can help them achieve the goals that they have and keep them alive.  In promoting change from the bottom up, your job will be to motivate the employees to see safety as their moral obligation, the right choice.  You will need to use your powers of persuasion to help these men and women who just need to provide for their families see that bending safety rules to accommodate production may enable them to keep their jobs in the short run but could cost them their lives or freedom in the long haul.  They will need to understand that when one or two of them decide to buck the system in an organization that does not value safety, they may get fired.  But if safe work attitude gains sufficient momentum, change will take place because it is impractical to fire the entire workforce at once. 

 Will this catch on overnight?  It may, but in most cases, it will be a gradual process.  It will take some convincing and it will depend on the individual choices of every single employee.  The truth is it may even cost you your job, but in the end you will know that you did what you could to fulfill the mandate of your vocation, rather than just clocked in and out.

Many, if not most, of us regularly use screens in our workplace and personal lives, whether it is for word processing, rounds and readings, building management systems, reports and presentations, or just chilling in front of a TV. This list goes on.

There are many hazards associated with constant screen usage. For example, according to a recent study from the University of Toledo, exposure to blue light from electronic devices may destroy cells in the retina and accelerate the onset of blindness. Researchers discovered that emissions of blue light cause retinal molecules, which sense light and send signals to the brain, to produce toxic chemical molecules in photoreceptor cells that help the eye to see. The ensuing chemical reactions kill photoreceptors. The result is macular degeneration, an incurable eye disease that can trigger blindness, typically beginning in a person’s 50s or 60s.

Among other areas that are affected by too much screen use are:

•     Sleep: Studies link heavy computer and mobile phone use to more sleep disturbances. University of Gothenburg psychologist Sara Thomée, one study’s lead researcher, says the blue light from digital devices suppresses the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, keeping us from having restful sleep.
•     Addiction and Reward Seeking: Dopamine, the “feel-good hormone,” is part of the brain’s pleasure and reward circuits. Playing video games turns on similar brain regions as those linked to cravings for drugs and gambling. Ditto for social media — every time we see a new post or get a reaction to ours, it’s like a hit of brain candy.
•     Weight: Even two hours of TV a day can increase the risk of weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease in adults. Conversely, computer use doesn’t seem to have as strong of a link. There are probably several factors to blame, including less active time, less sleep, and seeing more ads for unhealthy foods.
•     Overall Health: Most of the time when we’re on our screens, we’re sitting down. Sitting for hours at a time boosts the risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. One study found that spending more than four hours a day in front of a computer or TV more than doubles your likelihood of dying or being hospitalized for heart disease — and exercise won’t reduce the risk.

Managing Screen Time

For those of us who have children at home, this topic is quite significant because most of us have witnessed our kids being glued to screens at some point or another. “On the scale between candy and crack cocaine, it’s closer to crack cocaine,” said Chris Anderson, a former editor at Wired and the founder of GeekDad.com. Research shows that kids who spend too much time staring at screens are more likely to suffer from obesity in adult years and are at greater risk of 12 deadly cancers. There’s also the issue of self-confidence development, when more time is spent in front of the screen watching someone else’s experiences then exploring and creating their own stories.

What are some of the ways of successfully managing our screen time? Try the following:

•     Blue light blocking screen for your computer or glasses: This is an inexpensive way to mitigate the effects of having to stare at a screen for work all day long.
•     Follow the 20-20-20 rule: For every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break to focus on something 20 feet away. While you’re at it, stretch out your arms, legs, and neck.
•     Take standing breaks: Instead of emailing a question to your office mate, walk to her cubicle and ask her in person. Take the stairs when possible, or consider a sit-stand desk if that’s an option.
•     Adjust your station: If working on your computer is causing eye strain or neck pain, make sure it’s set up right. Your screen should be about an arm’s length away, and the top of the screen about 2 or 3 inches above eye level. Your arms should hang down from your shoulders and your elbows bend at about 100 degrees when your hands are on the keyboard. If you have an ergonomics expert at work, ask for a consult.
•     Don’t let yourself get distracted: Turn off the notifications on most of your apps — if you hear something ringing, it should be worthy of your attention (like a call or text), not just someone re-pinning your picture on Pinterest. At work, try to schedule uninterrupted time to think and plan — most emails can wait an hour.
•     Power down at night: Avoid tuning into digital devices for at least a half hour before bedtime, suggests the National Sleep Foundation. Bonus points for banning devices from the bedroom entirely so you’re not tempted to check them late at night or first thing when you wake up. If you can’t do that, at least silence your notifications.
•     Set boundaries for your kids – and enforce them: An hour a day after the homework is done is a good place to start. Stick to those limits. After a few times, your child will learn that whether she pleads or throws a tantrum, no means no.