SAFETY
“This is sometimes referred to as ‘blindsight,’”
said Ganschow. “This is why you can
drive your entire commute home and not
remember how you got there when you pull
into the garage.”
The changing perception of risk
When it comes to safety, it’s a hazard
that perception of risk changes as people
become more familiar with a task.
“Think about the first time you got
behind the wheel of a car. How cautious
were you?” said Ganschow. “How has that
changed today, after years or decades of
driving? Are you nearly as diligent or do
you kick on the cruise control and let your
mind wander?”
The same phenomenon can occur on a
job site. Potentially hazardous tasks that
were once met with careful diligence can
soon become routine, says Ganschow. It’s
the RAS putting the brain on autopilot.
“It’s not that the employee doesn’t assess
the risk,” said Ganschow. “It’s just that their
brain no longer consciously acknowledges
that the risk exists. The brain focuses
instead on seven bits of other data that are
more important in the moment.”
Using that explanation, it becomes easier
to understand how workers could, as
an example, fall into a hole that they were
working around all day, or how you could
back your car into your closed garage door.
S.C.A.R.F.
According to Ganschow, a popular model
for explaining human motivation in
response to social factors is the S.C.A.R.F.
model, which stands for status, certainty,
autonomy, relatedness and fairness.
“When any of those are threatened, we
tend to worry and ruminate on potential
outcomes and personal impacts, which
consumes the majority of our seven bits of
conscious thought,” said Ganschow.
People who are worried about S.C.A.R.F.
issues while on the job are at an increased
risk of injury from hazards that they otherwise
may have been focused on.
“This is one reason why you see an
increase in injury rates when entering
a business downturn or have rumors
“In a positive culture, everyone knows
what is expected of them, they are given
the training and tools to perform tasks
safely and efficiently, they get measured
on the completion of the work and
recognition for what they did well or
coaching for ways they can improve.”
– Justin Ganschow
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