What is Safety Culture?

February 07, 2025•2 min read

Over time, employees of a workplace often form together a set of common values, beliefs and goals that characterize the organization and their safety culture.

This workplace culture shows ‘how things are done around here,’ and can be influenced by many internal and external factors. The culture of a workplace is mainly influenced by internal elements, such as the individuals within the organization, their leadership, and their interactions. External factors, such as societal changes, play a lesser role.

The safety and health management system and culture within an organization impact the frequency of workplace injuries, illnesses, and the prevention efforts designed to keep employees safe. Fostering a positive safety culture in the workplace is important to ensure the success of the organization’s safety program.

What is Safety Culture?

A positive safety culture emphasizes the importance of safety and health in the workplace, ensuring that safe practices are prioritized at all levels. This culture is present when all employees view safety as a priority and feel encouraged to openly discuss safety concerns. Organizations should strive to foster this type of safety culture. Conversely, a negative safety culture can arise when leadership does not prioritize safety, leading to insufficient support for the safety and health program from employees.

Levels of Safety Culture

Every organization is at a different point in developing its safety culture. Recognizing the current culture can provide valuable insights into areas needing improvement and assist in progressing towards a more positive safety environment.

To understand and improve safety and health, it is helpful to consider the different levels of safety culture maturity. These levels provide a framework for assessing the current state of an organization's safety culture by identifying areas for growth and development; this allows the achievement of a culture where safety is an integral part of everyday operations.

Take a moment to reflect on the level of safety culture within your workplace; what do you feel is the current level of safety culture of your workplace? Can you identify some areas of your workplace safety culture that could be improved?

The following are a few ways to develop a positive safety culture in your organization:

Attend required training at your organization.
Encourage reporting of concerns, incidents and near misses; this will lead to open discussions about safety being the norm.
Ensure identified concerns, reported incidents, and near misses are investigated with corrective actions implemented to demonstrate the organization’s safety commitment.
Assess safety program success to ensure communication processes are efficient.

For more information, please contact MASH, or register for one of our courses here.