Safety and the Myth of Self-Reliance

Safety and the Myth of Self-Reliance

There are many myths that we Americans embrace, and the myth of triumphant self-reliance is
in the top five.

Let’s list our heroes: lone tycoons, solo cops, misunderstood dreamers, lone and desperate
parents; each is resourceful, strong-hearted, and stubborn as nails. These are characters who
achieve unbelievable results on their own time and dime. Fantasy industries are built on our
self-reliant myth. Seriously, what would a movie be like that didn’t celebrate this tireless
character?

So, my question is this: Yes, self-possessed people are special, but should their personal DNA
weigh so heavily in safety programs?

Safety programs focus too often on safe workers, and why not. These workers practice what we
preach, acting as we wish every worker would. We hold them higher than all others, especially
when they are safe. We should reward resourceful workers in our safety programs, so what’s
my beef? Bureau of Labor statistics.

For years, injury and fatality rates have been plateauing around 10% of OSHA’s 1971 founding
levels. That’s fifty-four years ago. Why don’t these numbers ever drop below 10%, to say 5% or
2%? Or have we reached some impenetrable line?

I do not propose doing away with Safety Heroes, but instead I would like to see us stop
elevating individuals above their teams. Celebrate small safety steps that our teams make every
day. Go past the person and concentrate on people instead. Think of how meaningful it would
be if everyone showed up on the safety poster and it was sincerely earned by each one of
them?

In her piece, ‘Beyond the Myth of Individual Responsibility,’ Rosa Antonio Carrillo, MSOD asks,
“Why are people still dying or getting seriously injured in the workplace?” She puts forward
many sensible reasons for this inadequacy. To Ms. Carrillo, “Safety is a social science. It is relational. It is an outcome of human interactions with each other and the organizational and social system.” Carrillo believes that the kind of self-worship we Americans promote “can erode empathy, hinder genuine relationships, and ultimately create a less safe environment.”

Good and lasting Safety missions take many believers, and many influencers. Carrillo
advocates that ‘it takes a village to raise safe people,’ to edit the phrase.

She goes on, saying, “Individuals (usually) prioritize their own needs and ambitions over the
safety or well-being of their colleagues…”

• “Individuals may be less likely to assist coworkers in need, report unsafe conditions or
  speak up when they witness unsafe behaviors.”
• “A narcissistic culture can foster an environment of competition and blame.”
• “An over individualistic culture can create a climate of fear and insecurity.”
• This can lead to “Individuals disregarding safety protocols and taking unnecessary risks
  to achieve their goals.”
• “A similar erosion of collective responsibility can create a workplace where individuals
  are less likely to prioritize safety or look out for one another.”

If this sounds familiar to you, then you may be looking at a negatively based Safety policy that
you didn’t think was there. Consider how many incident reviews conclude with Operator Error.
These conclusions are lazy and needless, terrible in the case of injuries and fatalities. If we
celebrate an employee’s good behavior, let’s own their failures too. Try applying “safer safety”
on site. Connect, interconnect, influence, and receive what you are looking for in a safety
environment: a reliant ecosystem, where all parties – production, quality, and safety join for
good.

Modern research, says Rosa Antonio Carrillo, in neuroscience and social psychology finds that
“we are far more interconnected than previously thought, influencing each other’s decisions and
perceptions through emotions and feelings… (such) that people can sense each other’s
emotions.”

Now, management may not really realize this — that successful businesses work like
interdependent ecosystems. Sometimes it takes full-on self-examination of a business to
understand that there are things missing that lead to success. Is it interdependence? Is it
honest mutual support? All business drivers are team-driven, be they production, quality, or
safety departments. It helps if you picture a three-legged stool; when one leg is slashed or cut
out, we cannot rely on it, and we immediately lose our way. The culture we wanted so much to
build will be instantly defeated by neglect. Which areas of your business need reconsideration?
In conclusion, we really do live a social platform way of life now. Rather than deny it, we should
celebrate interdependence among ourselves and see reliance and support on others as worthy
efforts for lasting success.

Sources:

Rosa Antonio Carrillo MSOD, Beyond the Myth of Individual Responsibility [for Safety] IILSC Insights
2025/2 Available at: https://iilsc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Beyond_the_Myth_of_Individual_Responsibility.pdf

Thanks to Robert Slocomb CHST for this guest post. Robert works in Metro Washington, DC in the wastewater industry.