Whether you are a newly graduated scientist or a seasoned individual starting at your fifth lab in your career, you might be surprised by the safety culture at the new facility. You could be so impressed by the safety culture at your new laboratory that you question how no one was seriously hurt at your former one. Or you could walk into the lab on your first day and immediately get a bad feeling in your gut. No matter how you feel on day one, two, or maybe day 32, just know that there are some things you can do to help understand your new perception of the culture. Any great piece of research starts with a question or two. Let’s examine some queries that can help you wrap your head around why some labs win, and others fall short when it comes to their safety culture.
First, let’s start with the why. When the safety culture does not look good, it is easy to assume that the deviant behaviors you witness are simply people taking advantage of the system. But not all bad behaviors are spawned from a desire to do harm. You need to find out what is influencing their unsafe behaviors. Most of the time, subpar safety behavior stems from a lack of understanding the consequences of unsafe actions. For example, some folks may not realize that handling their cell phone with gloved hands in the lab has the potential to transfer pathogens into the breakroom when they place that same phone on the table when they are eating their lunch. When the timing is right, you should have a conversation with the employee about what you saw and inquire if they are aware of the potential safety risks. You never know, you could discover that it was a topic skipped in safety training and you single-handedly just improved the quality of your safety training program!
The next question you should ask yourself is, are laboratory leadership aware of the safety issues present in their lab(s)? In most labs, the managers are often overburdened, spending most of their time chasing a schedule, trying to fill open positions, or putting out fires (figuratively we hope). Therefore, you should not assume that leadership is aware and allow unsafe practices to occur in the lab. Sometimes managers and supervisors are so hyper-focused on one thing, they might not be able to see a safety issue right in front of them. If you see unsafe habits, bring it up to lab leadership and share with them that your intentions are to avoid a potential harmful event from occurring. In some cases, managers are already aware of the situation and are trying to come up with solutions. Your conversation with them and perspectives about the safety concerns might be the missing piece that helps complete the puzzle they are trying to solve. So, you should feel comfortable bringing your concerns and be prepared to come with solutions to any problems you present to them.
Finally, ask yourself if the safety issues you see are isolated to a particular shift or certain individuals. Although it is the responsibility of laboratory leadership to champion the safety culture, it is up to the staff to feed and nurture its existence. When everyone works together, it is reflected positively in the safety culture, the audit results, and the injury and exposure reports. When gaps are present, there will be an increase in the negative indicators until the issues are identified and resolved. Instead of making assumptions about the safety culture of the entire lab, try to see where the gaps exist and then revisit the first question- why? It is a lot easier to coach a single individual that wears earbuds in the lab than the entire night shift crew that refuses to wear a lab coat until 5 minutes before the day shift supervisor appears. If that single person is the root of your safety concerns, don’t let their behavior go unchecked. As with negative attitudes in the department, poor safety habits can spread like wildfire. If a single individual’s behavior is not addressed, then others will soon follow suit. They will see that there are no repercussions to lax safety behaviors or worse, they will think nothing bad can come of cutting safety corners. Laboratory leaders and coworkers that normalize poor safety habits are only making the situation worse and damaging the safety culture of the lab while putting the entire staff at risk.
You should never assume a safety culture persists on its own. A good or bad safety culture is the sum of many different factors, and the reason behind the factors can be vast. So, before you are ready to write off a lab as unsafe, take the time to dig a bit deeper and find out what contributed to making the safety culture what it is today. If the lab has a great safety culture, find out why. The lab you are in today may not be the place at which you retire. Your path might lead to a different workplace that has an even worse safety culture than the one you left behind. By asking questions about what creates a great safety culture, you become equipped with the right tools and knowledge and will then be in a strong position to use what you know to improve the lives of others in your new lab.
-Jason P. Nagy, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM is a Lab Safety Coordinator for Sentara Healthcare, a hospital system with laboratories throughout Virginia and North Carolina. He is an experienced Technical Specialist with a background in biotechnology, molecular biology, clinical labs, and most recently, a focus in laboratory safety.
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