As important as psychological safety is, ensuring actual occupational safety in the workplace is equally crucial. At Compass Group, Hartela, and Vaisala, creating a safe work environment is an ongoing practice, continuously reinforced through routines such as safety walks and training sessions.
However, communicating about everyday occupational safety is not as simple as it might seem, the panelists emphasized. People are not purely rational beings — simply warning them about dangers isn’t always enough to get the message across.
We assume people will follow advice, but facts alone don’t drive action. Action requires emotion, Olli and Lammila explained. In occupational safety, the focus is often on deviations, mistakes, and accidents — but effective safety communication also involves positivity, listening, and dialogue, Ek added.