Bringing Respect Back to the Safety Role: A 21st Century Reawakening of Purpose, Presence, and Performance

I. Introduction: The Respect Deficit

Across industries, from mining to manufacturing, logistics to healthcare, one recurring sentiment echoes through the corridors of workplaces: "No one listens to the safety team anymore."

The role that was once seen as a respected guardian of worker well-being has increasingly become sidelined, tokenised, or even ridiculed. Safety professionals are too often portrayed as clipboard-wielding bureaucrats, the “fun police,” or compliance enforcers disconnected from the operational heartbeat of their organisations.

But it wasn't always like this.

The safety role was born out of noble intentions and forged in the aftermath of preventable tragedies. It existed to protect life, preserve health, and uphold the moral fabric of workplace integrity. Somewhere along the way, however, the position lost its respect- not just from others, but sometimes from within.

Let's explore:

• Why the respect for safety professionals has diminished

• The systemic and cultural forces at play

• The traps safety roles fall into (and how to avoid them)

• How to reframe the safety profession as enablers, not enforcers

• Practical steps to earn—not demand—respect again

This is a call to arms. A manifesto for rediscovering what the safety role was meant to be.

II. How the Safety Role Lost Its Shine

1. Over-Compliance and the "Tick-and-Flick" Culture

Safety professionals have, in many cases, become custodians of checklists instead of champions of culture. The obsession with compliance, certification, and paperwork, while often well-intended, has led to a perception that safety is about bureaucracy, not belief.

When safety becomes more about the audit trail than the emotional well-being of workers, respect wanes.

2. Disconnect from Operational Realities

A safety officer who doesn't understand the tools, rhythms, and pressures of the frontline will never command respect from the people in it. When safety professionals operate from offices rather than shop floors, they risk becoming “talkers, not doers”, issuing blanket rules with little contextual sensitivity.

This disconnect breeds resentment and dismissal: “They wouldn’t last 5 minutes doing my job.”

3. Weaponisation of Safety

Some organisations have used safety as a shield for poor leadership or as a stick to punish workers. When safety becomes a tool for blame, fear, or control, it loses moral credibility. Workers begin to view it not as protection, but as surveillance.

4. Lack of Advocacy and Strategic Voice

Safety professionals have historically been left out of boardroom discussions. Unlike Finance, Operations, or HR, the safety voice is rarely seen as a strategic input. The absence of advocacy at the executive level perpetuates the myth that safety is an add-on, not an essential part of value creation.

III. Rethinking the Identity of the Safety Professional

If we are to reclaim respect, we must redefine the safety identity.

Let’s abandon the image of the Safety Cop and embrace the Safety Coach.

Let’s replace the Enforcer with the Enabler.

Let’s reimagine the safety professional as someone who speaks the language of:

• Risk, not just rules

• Leadership, not just legislation

• Engagement, not just enforcement

• Curiosity, not just compliance

The Safety Professional of the Future:

• Understands the business as deeply as they understand legislation

• Knows how work is really done, not just how it’s written in procedures

• Builds trust, not just systems

• Facilitates conversations, not just inductions

• Seeks insight, not just incidents

This is how we bring respect back.

IV. The Five Fault Lines of Safety Disrespect

To earn back credibility, we need to confront five key fault lines that erode respect for the role:

1. Over-Reliance on Authority

“Because the law says so” is not a leadership strategy. Quoting regulations without understanding the "why" behind them is intellectually lazy and relationally corrosive. Workers don’t follow rules, they follow people they respect.

2. Shaming and Blaming

If your approach to safety is rooted in catching people out, you’re part of the problem. Respect cannot coexist with shame. Investigations, observations, and audits must be conducted with a learning mindset, not a punitive one.

3. Passive Communication

Safety messages often fall into the “white noise” category—boring toolbox talks, generic posters, outdated training videos. Respect comes from relevance. Your messaging must connect emotionally, practically, and culturally with your audience.

4. Failure to Address Psychological Safety

Physical safety is only one piece of the puzzle. Respect flourishes when safety includes psychological safety: the ability to speak up, fail safely, and be heard without fear. When safety only focuses on hazards and not humanity, it loses relevance.

5. Lack of Follow-Through

The quickest way to lose respect is to promise change and deliver nothing. If you’re seen as all talk- collecting hazard reports with no action, conducting risk assessments that gather dust- you become part of the disillusionment.

V. Respect is Not Given. It’s Earned.

Here are eight proven ways safety professionals can earn respect:

1. Get Out of the Office

Put your boots on the ground. Spend time where the work happens. Learn the names, stories, and pressures of the people you protect. Respect is built in shared spaces, not spreadsheets.

“The best safety professionals are invisible until you need them- and unforgettable after you do.”

2. Master Operational Fluency

Learn the process flows. Understand the KPIs. Know what keeps your operations manager awake at night. When safety professionals speak the language of business, they’re invited to the table- not tolerated at the edges.

3. Tell Human Stories, Not Just Hazard Numbers

Don’t talk about LTI rates. Talk about what it means when someone can't function day-to-day due to an injury. Storytelling connects the head and the heart. Respect is rooted in empathy.

4. Coach, Don’t Lecture

The days of top-down preaching are over. Facilitate conversations. Ask questions. Invite ownership. Respect grows when people feel heard and valued, not corrected.

5. Be Curious, Not Condemning

When things go wrong, be a detective- not a judge. Ask, “What made sense at the time?” rather than “Why didn’t you follow the rule?” This shift from blame to understanding transforms how people see safety.

6. Celebrate the Invisible Wins

Track and celebrate what didn’t happen. Highlight near-misses, proactive interventions, and innovations that improve safety. When safety is associated with positivity, not just punishment, it earns back emotional equity.

7. Lead With Vulnerability

Say “I don’t know.” Share your mistakes. Be human. Relatable safety professionals are respected more than those who are rigid.

8. Speak Up Strategically

Push for safety at the strategy level. Advocate for budget, time, and attention. Position safety not as a cost, but as a competitive advantage. Be the person who can translate “keeping people safe” into “keeping people productive.”

VI. What Leaders Need to Do

While safety professionals must reclaim their own credibility, leadership plays a crucial role in the ecosystem of respect.

If you’re a senior leader, consider:

• Do you invite safety into strategic planning or only into post-incident debriefs?

• Do you model the behaviours you expect from your people?

• Do you invest in the development of your safety team, or just rely on them to “keep the auditors happy”?

• Do you treat safety as a value, or as a slogan?

Respect for safety is not just about the safety team. It’s about how an organisation values life.

VII. Moving from “Safety Culture” to “Learning Culture”

Perhaps the greatest way to restore respect to the safety role is to reposition it as a catalyst for learning.

Traditional safety culture often focuses on avoiding error. A learning culture focuses on understanding it.

Imagine if your safety professional was known as:

• The chief sense-maker after something goes wrong

• The person who helps turn incidents into insights

• The one who cultivates feedback loops, not just fills out forms

This shift from control to curiosity repositions the safety role from compliance police to organisational conscience.

VIII. A New Safety Manifesto

If we are serious about restoring respect to the safety role, we need a new creed.

Let this be it:

“I am not the safety cop. I am the safety coach.

IX. Conclusion: Back to the Heart of It

The respect we crave for safety cannot be mandated. It must be earned, embodied, and rekindled, day by day, floor by floor, conversation by conversation.

Safety isn’t about control. It’s about care.

It isn’t about being in charge. It’s about being in service.

And when we start showing up like that- humble, human, and helpful- respect comes rushing back.

Not because of our title.

But because of our truth.