How Does Science Explain the Connection Between Engagement and Risk Reduction

How does science explain the connection between engagement and risk reduction? Less confidently than the usual claim that engaged staff have fewer incidents.

The correlation is reported often. Causation is harder, because the same conditions that produce engagement, decent management and reasonable workload, independently reduce risk. Engagement may be a symptom rather than a cause.

The mechanism that is easier to defend is reporting. People who feel able to speak up report hazards and near misses earlier, which is what allows anything to be fixed before it becomes an incident. That is also why a rise in reports usually indicates improvement rather than decline.

Australian work health and safety law treats psychosocial hazards, including poor support and low control, as matters to be managed.

Safe Work Australia covers psychosocial hazards. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s psychological safety training course and incident reporting software.