Why a safe and healthy workplace matters — Lionesses of Africa

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.” 

This quote was used by President Obama in his eulogy for Senator John McCain and was written by Ernest Hemmingway in his book, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’. Although the book was based in the Spanish Civil War, the title of this incredible book was taken from John Donne’s series of meditations and prayers on health, pain, and sickness (written after a near fatal illness). If one accepts the spelling that was used at the time (and as usual the use of the gender-specific pronoun to describe all humans, common throughout history), this is one of the most powerful thoughts on our place in this world.  Written in 1624, it will be forever true:

“No man is an Island, intire of it selfe;

every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the maine;

if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were;

any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde;

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.”

We were reminded of this because we are currently writing from a European country where a recent workplace fatality has been reported. This particular country had seven workplace fatalities in 2020, nine in 2021 and so far this year have had seven, which if continues at this rate suggests perhaps that as many as eighteen deaths in total this year. One hopes that this will not extrapolate out in this manner, but the point is, these are a total of 23 people over the past two years four months who went to work and never returned. How tragic is that.

When we start and then build a business, Health and Safety is often not at the forefront of our minds. We start our business, we do what needs to be done and as our business grows we still personally get stuck in. Climbing to the top of the warehouse on an unstable ladder and shoving a heavy box on our left shoulder we continue to use our free right hand to assist as we climb back down, has never been a problem, a thought or concern. We have all been there. We really don’t give it a second thought.

Let’s get real for a moment, how are you going to support your family if you were to fall from the top of that ladder? A few moments of planning, of spending small on safety clips for the ladder and even a harness (they are less expensive than you think – even less if you think of the cost vs hospital bills and so on) and your family will thank you a thousand times over.

Secondly, once you start having employees, you are asking them to risk their lives, for what? It is one thing for you to risk your life for your dream and for your business, but to ask another to do this? For what? The thousand Zambian Kwatcha or 20,000 Nigerian Naira they earn a day? Makes you think doesn’t it?

But this is an important point. If we put aside for one moment the obvious, that a death of our employee, of any employee is tragic beyond belief. If we can possibly put aside such a horror and look at this purely from a business angle, such opportunities missed to keep our employees safe by saving some minor cost is crazy. Of course one could fill up the entire factory with cotton wool balls, so yes, there has to be a limit as to how much Health and Safety one brings in before your entire company becomes one giant children’s Bouncy Castle. Your factory still has to turn, your company still has to make profits and the cash flow has to arrive fast – otherwise you will end up having no company and no employees and who does that serve? Certainly not your employees and the family and communities that they support.

However, it is our belief (and we have seen numerous examples) that Health and Safety although considered a cost, must be considered a benefit for the company. It goes without saying that one of your largest costs are your employees salaries – we know it, you know it, our accountants constantly point it out! So why not protect them better? It should be added that we have seen a number of extremely well run businesses by Lionesses and indeed others that do consider Health and Safety as an important and integral part of their business. For many however this is not a formalized part of their business, but something they have cobbled together over the years and it has become a nagging itch at the back of their minds that they must formalize it more, upgrade their basic efforts and close any dangerous gaps in their knowledge and practices.

How do we do this?

Start now by weighing up the risks. Make a serious risk assessment of your business. This allows you to make informed decisions about which risks are a ‘must cover’, ‘should cover’ and ‘could cover’.

Find someone responsible who will be able to keep all records. Details of all the Health and Safety measures you are putting in place. To write an actual Health and Safety Policy and most importantly, to keep a record of any accidents (and also just as important near-misses). These will allow you to review your policies and to check if they made a difference and if these can be changed for the better.

As we often say – the people who really know your business are your employees, talk to them, ask them where they feel unsafe and why. They must never feel like they have to do something in order to be ‘a team player’. This is their life that we are concerned with.

Training is essential as you build a safer environment. It is not just good enough for you to build a safe place, your employees should understand why it is being built in this way and what their role is within this new environment. As they understand, so they become more invested in the process. Invested employees = great employees.

This new environment must be kept tidy. Ever watch a cooking show on TV? The top Chef’s are obsessed with tidying up as they go – they keep their work bench clean and tidy, and so they should! This is not just so they at all times know where things are – but they are working with sharp knives and also products that can kill (think salmonella), this is their Health and Safety habit, it works – it should be yours too.

Who does not get bored with fire drills? For that matter – who has ever listened to the Air Steward/ess when they have explained where the exits are and how to put on a seat belt? It is well known that more people survive a crash if they listened to the safety briefing and already know which is the closest exit. Same is true with factories and fire drills. Do them, practice makes perfect. The faster you can get your employees out and the quicker you can check they are all safe, the better.

One of the largest areas of danger concerns your machines – not just the potential for catastrophic injuries because your employees take their eye off the crusher, but actually from missed maintenance and servicing. The machine that breaks down and Joe the operator thinks he can help out by quickly removing what he thinks is the fluff that is clogging the works… Check your maintenance contracts and service those machines!

Regularly check your First Aid kits, ensure they are full of the real necessities for both minor and major events and let’s get our employees and ourselves down to the local First Aid Training Centre. That one trip could save a life and even if it doesn’t it’s a great Team building trip. Have employees who are unsure if this training is for them? This amusing video from the British Heart Foundation might change their minds (here) – even ‘hard men’ can learn!

Be aware. Pregnant staff, younger staff members (who think they are invincible – didn’t we all at their age!) and employees who have just had an operation are all extra vulnerable.

Finally, let’s keep those stress levels down. It has been shown time and time again that more accidents happen when there is extra stress, extra pressure to finish the job, extra noise and yelling. Let’s keep it calm and relaxed – it’ll save the day in many more ways than one.

We cannot guarantee no accidents happen, accidents do, but we can at least ensure that we have done our best to provide a safe and healthy workplace.

As President Obama said in his eulogy for Senator John McCain that Sen McCain saw “Each moment, each day, each choice, [as] a test.” Let us ensure that we don’t just pass this test, but we pass with flying colours.

Stay safe.