Middle Managers

This information is designed to inform and guide managers on the Work Health and Safety laws. It provides practical guidance on leadership, consultation, communication and health and safety culture. There is information for Middle Managers about:

• Legislative obligations
• Leadership, health and safety culture.

The role of a manager as a guide, role model and leader with responsibility to motivate teams to perform and achieve can be both challenging and rewarding. There are many motivators that drive our performance, commitment and engagement.

Part of engagement and commitment is achieved through the way we do things everyday in the workplace. Effective leaders know the value and benefits of committing to health and safety as an integral part of everyday business and by valuing the ideas and involvement of workers through consultation and effective communication.

Managers play a substantial role in influencing workers to value health and safely by changing unsafe work behaviours and clearly setting what are the accepted safety standards in the workplace. They often face competing priorities, or conflicting direction that can influence the amount of time, resources and energy they allocate to health and safety. By committing to health and safety at work as a part of the way they do things everyday, managers provide clear and consistent messages to their workers that reinforce how important it is to think and practice safety at all times.

Managers are often the closest link between senior leaders and the workers. The success, or otherwise, of any business largely depends on its workforce and the relationship between the business senior leadership and the workers they lead. Workers value a manager who sets clear direction and commits to action. Managers, who say they are committed to a course of action but fail to adhere to them, send a clear message to their workers, ‘I am telling you the things you want to hear but I don’t intend to follow them myself’ or ‘I know that is the procedure but we can save time by cutting some corners’.

A strong health and safety culture is one where workers believe that their leaders are committed to health and safety and that any input they may have as a worker, into the development or review of systems, policies and procedures is valued and followed