WSPS.CA | 2021 HEALTH & SAFETY LEADERSHIP SURVEY WHITE PAPER 15
GLOBAL PANDEMIC
WSPS Vice President of Field Operations, Shannon Jones, says generally they
have noticed an uptick in requests for support. "We're noticing there is more
of a pull for information than a push. It is a very confusing time for employers.
There are so many levers being used by the government, and it is difficult for
them to keep track."
Jones has also observed that organizations are seeking more health and
safety expertise and it's showing up in recruitment. McKinsey found the same
in their global survey, Future of Work: What 800 executives envision for the
post-pandemic workforce. "COVID-19 has drawn intense attention to issues of
sanitation and workplace safety. In our survey, 83 percent of respondents said
they would hire more people for health and safety roles."
2
While lagging indicators, such as compliance, became a focal point for most
respondents, there remains a fairly significant gap between Leading, Reactive, and
Start of Journey respondents when it comes to leading indicators.
Survey results show there was a bit of improvement in overall health and safety
programs over the past year, but not as much as you might think, given that
the pandemic has forced workplaces into hypervigilance when it comes to both
physical and mental health. There was an improvement in the Managing category
where 61% of respondents said their program was very good and 5% said it
was excellent, up 15% over last year. In the Leading category, scores dropped a
percentage point, and in the Start of Journey, there was a decline of 9%.
It is also surprising that, under the circumstances, there are still relatively few
respondents that have formal plans and methods of evaluation in place for health
and safety in their workplaces.
76% of
LEADING
organizations indicated
they are listening to and acting on employee
concerns and suggestions versus
Over half of Leading respondents said they recognized health and
safety contributions made by employees compared to
11%
START OF
JOURNEY
and 22%
REACTIVE
respondents.
47% of
REACTIVE
respondents.
WHEN ASKED ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY CHANGES RESULTING
FROM THE PANDEMIC
