Project status: Active

What motivates business leaders to prioritise WHS in their workplaces?

Although workplace fatalities and injuries are related to multiple factors, commitment to improving WHS by executives sets the tone for a company’s safety culture. While the health and safety benefits of demonstrating WHS commitment are clear, the commercial benefits for doing so are often overlooked.

There is now considerable evidence that demonstrates that commitment to WHS has a positive impact on a business’ bottom line, customer retention, reputation, quality of services and output, and workforce (attraction, engagement, retention). Pro-social practices are recognised as being beneficial for business and are increasingly incorporated into the ‘triple bottom line’ – profit, people, and the planet.

Despite the multitude of benefits WHS commitment offers, research has found that many business leaders still fail to prioritise WHS. So how can we ensure ongoing and increased commitment to WHS at a corporate level?

Examining the drivers of Business Leaders

Our research endeavours to identify ways of engaging senior executives to ensure greater WHS commitment. By researching both the motivators and barriers to WHS prioritisation, we will be able to develop an evidence-based intervention that enhances executive commitment to WHS.

We have partnered with Edith Cowan University to conduct this critical research. The research will firstly identify the primary motivators and barriers to WHS prioritisation in executives, via a literature review and in-depth interviews with executives. Following this, the researchers will design a novel intervention informed by the findings that will be tested on a selection of organisations.

Watch this space for our findings once the project is completed.

Further Reading

• Preventing workplace harm through research, digital services media release

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