Influencing work safety decision-makers – survey now underway

Why are some health and safety initiatives and projects easier to approve than others? If you're a decision-maker, can you articulate what influencing strategies make it easier to make a decision?

If you're a manager, you have a responsibility for the health and safety of your workers. That can mean making decisions which affect their health and wellbeing. These can include things such as approving a health and safety initiative, purchasing safety equipment or going up the chain to secure approvals.

So why is that some health and safety initiatives and projects are easier to approve than others? One of the factors that could make decision-making easier is how the proposal is presented to you.

The University of Queensland is undertaking an important research project exploring how OHS professionals exert influence within organisations. It wants feedback from managers on how professionals go about influencing - particularly what works and what doesn't. This knowledge is important for the profession, and also for the management of OHS risks.

By taking part in the survey you can assist in understanding what it takes to influence decision-makers in the area of health and safety. And you can benefit by crystallising your own approach to decision-making. And that's surely useful in your own life.

The survey will take 10-15 minutes and all responses are confidential to the research team. The survey is open until Monday 23 September 2019.

If you are a manager, access the survey here:

If you are an OHS professional, please forward the survey link to a manager that you have attempted to influence in the last 12 months.

Further information

The research is part of a PhD project and has ethics approval from The University of Queensland, Human Ethics Committee. Should you have any queries please contact Cassie Madigan, email: c.madigan1@uq.edu.au