IOSH president highlights lower ‘risk intelligence’

John Holden, president of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), has spoken out about what he feels is a growing lack of “risk intelligence” among the British public.

The health and safety leader was responding to a recent YouGov survey which asked 4,644 adults across the country to give their opinions about health and safety in the workplace. The results from the IOSH-commissioned survey – “Your job – your life” – were revealed at a House of Lords lunch event.

It was at this lunch event that John Holden, a leading voice in the health and safety profession, outlined his concerns that most people do not have the level of risk awareness that they should.

YouGov conducted two online surveys on behalf of IOSH earlier this year. Of the 4,644 adults polled, just under 3,000 of these were employed and the published results are based on the answers given by these respondents. A similar exercise was carried out in March 2008.

Although the survey showed that the majority of people view health and safety principles in a positive light, the IOSH president was keen to highlight two key findings. Firstly, 69% of respondents significantly underestimated the number of workplace injuries which occur every year. The actual figure is around 300,000 injuries, but many believed it to be far less, with almost 50% of employees estimating that there were fewer than 50,000 injuries annually.

Further to this, as many as 15% of people still view health and safety policy as pointless bureaucracy. Many respondents described health and safety regulations as “silly rules” and felt that they lacked common sense.

In his speech at the House of Lords, John Holden said: “On the one hand most of us fully appreciate the value of health and safety and are thankful that it’s there to keep us safe and in good health. But then there’s the other perceived side of health and safety, the mythical monster created by some sections of our media that tells us it’s all about jobsworths making daft decisions and tying us all up in red tape.”

He described these contradictory perceptions of health and safety as a “Jekyll and Hyde” type view that encouraged people to ignore the very real risks they face on a daily basis in the workplace.

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