3.1 Health and safety culture

Written by Imran Qureshi (NEBOSH)

NEBOSH IGC · Health and safety management · 15 questions

Name: ____________________ Date: ____________

Which is an indicator of poor health and safety culture?
- A High worker turnover and many complaints about conditions
- B High worker participation
- C Few incidents and good compliance
- D Low absenteeism
Health and safety culture is best described as:
- A The number of safety signs
- B Shared attitudes, values and behaviour about health and safety
- C The written safety policy
- D The company's insurance
New workers often learn unsafe habits mainly because of:
- A Peer influence
- B Written policy
- C Government posters
- D Insurance rules
Which of these is an indicator of a good safety culture?
- A Workers follow rules only when watched
- B Workers follow rules because they believe in them
- C Near misses are hidden
- D Complaints about conditions are ignored
Which of these is used as an indicator of health and safety culture?
- A The size of the car park
- B The number of directors
- C The colour of the notice board
- D Absenteeism and sickness rates
Which measure alone is the safest basis for judging culture?
- A The turnover rate alone
- B The number of accidents alone
- C None, because culture is judged from several indicators together
- D The number of posters alone
Why is peer influence important for culture?
- A New workers copy what experienced colleagues actually do
- B Peers set exposure limits
- C Peers decide the law
- D Peers write the policy
A poor safety culture is likely to show as:
- A Prompt reporting of near misses
- B Regular worker consultation
- C High competence and training
- D Frequent rule breaking that supervisors accept
Complaints about working conditions are an indicator because they:
- A Give the number of machines
- B Prove the law was broken
- C Show the size of the workforce
- D Show workers' views about how safety is managed
High worker turnover can indicate:
- A Poor working conditions or morale
- B A good culture
- C A good policy
- D Perfect training
Safety culture is best summed up as:
- A How things are really done when nobody is watching
- B What the law requires
- C What the policy says
- D What the auditor writes
A culture in which workers do not report near misses because they fear blame is:
- A Positive, because of low numbers
- B Weak, because early warnings are lost
- C Neutral, because nothing happened
- D Strong, because there are few reports
Which statement about low accident numbers and culture is correct?
- A Accident numbers have no link to culture
- B Low accident numbers always prove a good culture
- C Low accident numbers alone do not prove a good culture
- D Only high numbers matter
Which is a sign that an organisation has a positive safety culture?
- A Workers are blamed first
- B Managers take part in inspections and act on findings
- C Managers avoid the shop floor
- D Safety is left to one person
New workers pick up unsafe shortcuts mainly because:
- A They copy colleagues who take the shortcuts
- B Insurance requires it
- C The law allows it
- D The policy asks for it

Answer key

1. A, 2. B, 3. A, 4. B, 5. D, 6. C, 7. A, 8. D, 9. D, 10. A, 11. A, 12. B, 13. C, 14. B, 15. A

Turnover and complaints are indicators of culture.
Culture is how things are really done.
Peers have a strong influence on culture.
Good culture shows when rules are followed without enforcement.
Absence and sickness are one of several indicators.
One indicator can mislead.
People learn how things are really done from colleagues.
Accepted rule breaking is a sign that the culture is weak.
They show what workers think about conditions.
It may point to problems with the way the organisation treats its people.
The shared attitudes, values and habits decide behaviour in practice.
Low reporting can hide serious problems.
Under-reporting or luck can hide a poor culture.
Visible involvement supports a positive culture.
Peer influence is strong.