Kevin Ian Schmidt

In any organization with a system for reporting accidents and incidents, there is always the risk of underreporting or overreporting. This discrepancy can significantly reduce the effectiveness and reliability of the reporting process. Accurate reporting is crucial because you can’t address issues that you aren’t aware of, and often, “near misses” serve as early warnings for potential serious injuries or accidents.

When there is a suspicion of underreporting, it’s essential to ask several critical questions to ensure that all relevant information about accidents and no-harm incidents is captured. This is necessary so that appropriate preventive measures can be implemented. To address the issue, it is important to take a step back and examine the organization’s culture. Understanding what behaviors and actions are being rewarded or punished is key to identifying the root causes of underreporting.

According to a basic principle of human behavior, “Things that get rewarded or recognized, get done.” In the context of accident and incident reporting, this means that employees are more likely to report incidents if they are positively acknowledged for doing so, and less likely if they fear negative consequences. Therefore, two fundamental questions must be asked: “Are employees being punished or blamed for reporting incidents?” and “Are employees being rewarded, either implicitly or explicitly, for not reporting?”

If the answer to either question is yes, it becomes clear how these conditions can influence human behavior and lead to underreporting. For example, if employees feel that reporting an incident will result in punishment or blame, they may choose not to report it. Conversely, if they believe that not reporting incidents will help them avoid trouble or gain rewards, they may be incentivized to keep issues under wraps. In both scenarios, the organization’s culture and policies play a significant role in shaping reporting behaviors.

To address these issues, organizations must foster a culture that encourages open and honest reporting without fear of repercussions. This involves creating a safe and supportive environment where employees feel comfortable sharing information about incidents and near misses. Recognizing and rewarding accurate and timely reporting can also help promote a culture of transparency and continuous improvement. By doing so, organizations can ensure that they have a complete understanding of workplace hazards and can take proactive steps to prevent accidents and injuries, ultimately creating a safer work environment for everyone.

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Human behavior is often shaped by the outcomes that individuals and groups experience as a result of their actions. If employees are rewarded for not reporting accidents, they are likely to continue withholding this information because the consequences reinforce that behavior. Conversely, if reporting accidents leads to punishment or blame, employees will naturally try to avoid these negative outcomes by not reporting incidents. In both scenarios, underreporting becomes a common practice, which can create a false sense of security within the organization. Management may mistakenly believe that their workplaces are becoming safer when, in reality, crucial information about potential hazards is being suppressed.

Unfortunately, many organizations implement incentive programs aimed at improving safety, but these initiatives often have the unintended consequence of merely altering the reported statistics rather than enhancing actual safety. In these cases, safety statistics can become highly unreliable, as they may not accurately reflect the true state of workplace safety. It is entirely possible for unsafe practices to occur without being captured in the statistics, thereby weakening the connection between reported data and the actual level of safe behavior within the organization.

In some organizations, particularly those with multiple sites or divisions, a competitive element is introduced into safety reporting. This approach often exacerbates the problem of underreporting. When safety performance is turned into a competition, managers may feel pressured to avoid appearing at the bottom of safety rankings. The fear of being scrutinized or criticized for poor safety records can lead to deliberate underreporting of incidents. Managers may choose not to report accidents or near misses to avoid raising questions about their leadership or facing demands to “get your people to work safely.”

This competitive atmosphere creates an environment where the focus shifts from genuinely improving safety to simply maintaining appearances. As a result, the organization may continue to operate under the illusion that safety is improving when, in fact, serious risks are being overlooked. This can have dangerous consequences, as the true state of safety within the workplace remains hidden, and opportunities to address and mitigate hazards are missed.

To cultivate a truly safe working environment, organizations must prioritize accurate and honest reporting over superficial improvements in safety statistics. This requires a cultural shift away from punitive or reward-based systems that inadvertently encourage underreporting. Instead, organizations should foster an environment where reporting is seen as a positive and essential component of workplace safety. By doing so, they can gain a realistic understanding of safety conditions and take meaningful steps to protect their employees, rather than relying on misleading data that only serves to mask underlying problems.

The solution to this issue is 2 fold:

The first step in addressing the issue of accurate incident and accident reporting is to foster a deeper understanding of human behavior among managers and executives. Far too often, organizations invest substantial time, money, and effort in training leaders on the financial and operational aspects of the business, yet they overlook the importance of equipping these individuals with knowledge about the science of human behavior. This oversight leads to the implementation of initiatives that fail to address the underlying reasons behind why people act the way they do, especially in the context of safety reporting.

When managers and executives lack an understanding of human behavior, they may inadvertently create environments that discourage honest reporting. For instance, if leaders are not aware of how fear of punishment or desire for rewards can influence employees’ decisions to report—or not report—incidents, they might unintentionally reinforce behaviors that lead to underreporting. Without this foundational knowledge, even well-intentioned safety programs can miss the mark, resulting in a false sense of security and a failure to address real safety issues.

To effectively promote a culture of safety, it is crucial that those in leadership positions understand the psychological factors that drive human behavior. This understanding allows them to create policies and practices that encourage transparency and honesty in reporting, rather than fostering environments where employees feel pressured to hide incidents to avoid negative consequences.

The second solution to improving incident and accident reporting is to ensure that employees are thoroughly trained in incident reporting, incident investigations, and root cause analysis. It’s not enough to simply track the number of incidents that are reported; organizations must also delve deeper into understanding the root causes of these incidents and take corrective actions to address them. Many companies fall short by focusing solely on the incidents that are reported, without considering the underlying hazards that may have contributed to them. This narrow focus can lead to a reactive approach to safety, where issues are only addressed after an incident has occurred, rather than proactively identifying and mitigating risks before they result in harm.

Proper training in incident reporting and investigation empowers employees to identify and report potential hazards, even if an incident hasn’t yet occurred. Root cause analysis, in particular, is a critical tool for uncovering the fundamental reasons behind accidents and near misses. By identifying these root causes, organizations can implement corrective measures that address the source of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms. This approach not only helps to prevent future incidents but also contributes to the overall safety culture within the organization.

In summary, the key to resolving the challenges of incident and accident reporting lies in two main strategies: first, educating managers and executives on the intricacies of human behavior, and second, providing employees with comprehensive training on incident reporting, investigations, and root cause analysis. By integrating these elements into the organizational culture, companies can create a more transparent, proactive, and effective approach to workplace safety. This not only protects employees but also strengthens the organization’s ability to maintain a safe and productive work environment.

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