New research from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Global Safety Evidence Centre emphasises the critical role senior management have in improving safety outcomes by visibly leading and embedding safety culture in their organisations from the top down
The role of leadership and governance in occupational safety and health (OSH) report produced in partnership with the International Organisation for Standardization’s Technical Committee on occupational health and safety management (ISO/TC 283), finds that:
• Senior management’s role in setting clear policies, demonstrating visible leadership, keeping oversight of the system, and fostering a positive safety culture has a positive impact on OSH outcomes.
• Longer leadership tenures contribute to organisational stability and therefore better OSH outcomes, as do considered, prevention-focused attitudes towards safety. In contrast, rapid turnover in leadership and traits like over-confidence or over-focus on short-term goals lead to the opposite.
• Further research is needed to address gaps in definitions of senior management across organisations and OSH standards, and to evaluate the effectiveness of targeted leadership training programmes.
The findings also suggest financial incentives for OSH performance should be carefully considered. While these can encourage a stronger focus on safety, financial incentives can also sometimes result in unintended and counterproductive behaviours such as underreporting.
This research will inform the development of a proposed ISO OSH standard focused on leadership and governance, which will support OSH practitioners and their organisation’s leaders to improve safety practices and outcomes.
Nancy Hey, director of Evidence and Insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, said,“Senior managers can positively impact occupational safety and health outcomes in their organisations by providing strategic direction, demonstrating visible leadership and engagement, maintaining systematic oversight, and fostering a positive safety culture. On the other hand, organisations must give active attention to the heightened safety risk present when CEOs change. Financial incentives also need to be used with care.”
Leanie du Toit, chair of ISO TC 283, added, “Leadership is not a supporting element of occupational health and safety; it is a decisive one. The evidence clearly shows that when senior leaders visibly shape, prioritise and embed a strong safety culture, organisations see measurable improvements in both the frequency and severity of workplace injuries. These insights will directly inform the development of new ISO guidance on governance and leadership, ensuring that organisations have the structures, behaviours and expectations needed to strengthen prevention, empower workers, and build safer, more resilient workplaces.”
