Document 3NYvD4v9xExOBLq3aVVreEran

HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND INDUSTRIAL SAFETY Stress m the work situation is a cause for high accident rates Some researchers, in fact, have attributed a major portion of ac cidents to unhealthy psychological climates Since management creates the psychologi cal environment for its employees, it should do everything possible to make workers feel secure and free from stress Management has always been interested in eliciting from all workers loyalty to the company Every company would like to have its employees be good contributing employees Those who feel that they have been truly accepted, in the sense here used, will be loyal workers If, however, a worker feels that he is but one cog in a machine, he will have little desire to be loyal to a company and may seek employment elsewhere if it is avail able If he remains on the job, he will tend to be hostile to everything proposed by the company, including the safety program The same principle applies to the safety manager and his program If be expects loyalty to a safety program, he must also contribute to the satisfaction of this need for loyalty on the part of the worker One cannot expect others to recognize his achievement unless he is willing to give recognition to the achievements of others He must do everything in his power to satisfy the needs of others for in this way he will satisfy his own The safety pro gram will have greater chance for success because it is really working through peo ple, utilizing their motivations for the good of all Anyone desiring affection, belong ing, knowledge, participation, and recogni tion must be ready to give it to others Safety directors and supervisors must ask, "What causes an individual to do what he is doing?" It may be difficult to find the answer, but not impossible A concern for workers and a sensitivity to them will aid understanding Complexity of motivation The motivational problem is perhaps the most complex one in the field of human be havior It is not possible at the present stage of development to give clear-cut, con cise answers to all the questions that would be asked about other people's motivations Rather, attempts are made to set forth some basic factors and point out where the complexities exist Continuing need, multi ple motivation, hierarchical motivation, and conflicting motives must be considered Continuing need is more obvious when one thinks of the biological needs How ever, people often assume that in the psy chosocial needs, satisfaction at one time should suffice for the future and thus they need not be concerned any longer with giv ing recognition, or affection, or social ap proval. For all people, these needs continue throughout life Satisfaction is always sought for these needs, but not always at tained It should be apparent also that the satisfactions sought by individuals will not necessarily be for the same needs At one tame, the dnve motivation may be for so cial approval while at another tune the need most requiring satisfaction might be affection Thus, in dealing with people, one must recognize that what was effective yes terday may not work today, although the satisfaction-seeking behavior is to some de gree similar Being aware that these needs continually want satisfaction makes it somewhat easier for the safety man or anyone else to deal effectively with people in the work situa tion There may be variance from day to day so the safely man must therefore culti vate his own ability, and the ability of fore men, to work with people, so that he can sense which needs require satisfaction at a given time Since they spend so much time together and with workers, the safety man and fore man (or supervisor) come to know each other and die workers very well This should provide the key to determining what a worker's behavior at the moment means in terms of need satisfaction This key is based on little cues in the individual's be havior which they have learned over the years to recognize, if they have taken the time and made the effort to know their people. Careful observation is required Safety men should make certain that any foreman training program includes methods of effective observation of workers Multiple motivation is the second facet that complicates the analysis of behavior People are seldom motivated by just one thug--many forces operate at any single moment For example at lunch tune, one may eat because he is u need of food, or just because it is the usual tune However, 5-11