‘Mindful’ Health & Safety Culture Process 3
- Sensitivity to operations
Sensitivity to operations is similar to a reluctance to simplify. This is described as the way a mindful organization pays vigilant attention to every detail, regardless of how seemingly insignificant it may be in day-to-day operations.
Think about healthcare, in a rest home context. One day, a nurse notices an older person has cold hands, and a glassy, staring expression. No big deal, he thinks – older people have bad circulation and ‘senior moments’ all the time.
So he doesn’t bother saying anything to his manager, so as not to be a bother. No one bothers to keep monitoring the patient – and what seemed like ordinary symptoms have become meningitis 24 hours later.
Sensitivity to operations means that workers (even at a low level) are encouraged to report things and speak up. And it means that senior managers and employers need to remain as aware as possible of the current state of their work locations.