Health and safety regulations are important; however, assuring that workers are safe and best practices are being applied usually comes at a premium price. Much like deciding to purchase natural, organic food, there is always a tradeoff for putting your health first: quality costs more. Organic products may be better for us, but many people will make purchasing decisions based on price and not on quality and choose the less-expensive processed items. If we expand this analogy beyond organic produce and apply it to health and safety measures in the workplace, Western consumers more worried about the price of an item and less about the conditions under which it was manufactured.
At first glance, it would be absurd to say that price doesn’t matter. For most consumers prices drive purchasing decisions; but to what extent?
Once consumers discover the deplorable conditions under which their cheap commodities are produced, are they really willing to change their habits? Consider, for instance, the following events that have raised consumer awareness in the last several years:
- Dangerously high levels of lead paint used in Mattel toys that were made in China.
- More than 1,000 deaths and many more casualties (in 2013 alone) in Bangladeshi textile factories (mainly due to fire and poor working conditions).
- Reports of lax safety in Pakistani textile factories, such as blocked exits and inadequate fire extinguishers.
The list could easily be expanded, however, what is the real issue here is the question if reports of health and safety oversights and their consequences really change consumer patterns. For only if consumers decide to stop purchasing items involved in such incidents will manufacturers be forced to invest into adequate health and safety measures. Up to now, the standard corporate reflex to reports of OHS violations are product recalls, consumer reimbursements and a promise for better future oversight. Unfortunately though, this reaction is short sighted. These reactionary measures do little more than damage control when the company’s reputation has already been substantially compromised. A much more effective approach is the proactive mindset to prevent such incidents in the first place and not only prevent a loss of reputation but, in fact, use the active implementation of industry leading OHS measures as a way to improve a company’s public image.
Corporations need to effectively communicate to its customers and investors that steps to improve OHS are continuously developed and implemented, regardless of reported incidents or not. Only then can a company convincingly assure the public that they are producing a quality product in a safe working environment while at the same time harnessing the positive PR possibilities that come from it. As a result of this strategy, the price for safety will not only be small but it will also generate a multitude of benefits.
EVS Translations is a translation company that specializes in providing expert language services for corporation with a global footprint. We focus on the translation of occupational safety instructions, health and safety manuals, brochures and training manuals. Meet us at the 20th World Congress on Safety and Health in Frankfurt Germany in August or simply contact us to learn more about how we can help you make the most of your health and safety programs.
