The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)
report, Diverse Cultures at Work:
Ensuring Safety and Health Through Leadership and Participation, reveals
that addressing cultural diversity in the workplace can significantly improve
occupational safety and health.
A growing percentage of the EU workforce consists of migrant
workers, making European workplaces increasingly diverse. Yet in many
workplaces, issues of employee safety and job satisfaction arise due to poor
communication and misunderstanding between workers of different cultural
backgrounds. For instance, as many as 80% of all maritime accidents in the EU
may occur due to miscommunication based on language and other cultural differences.
The EU-OSHA report suggests creating a constructive safety
climate shared by everyone in the workplace. Basic principles needed for
establishing such a safety climate include:- A leadership style addressing the needs of culturally diverse workers.
- Acknowledging language barriers and taking steps to overcome them.
- Training workers to nurture an inclusive working environment.
Find more information on EU-OSHA’s website.