For decades, safety manuals have packed in rigid policies designed to reduce risk. But in the real world, those rules don’t always work as intended. Worse, they can backfire. When workers see safety policies as impractical, outdated, or just plain ridiculous, they stop following all of them—not just the bad ones.
The Problem with Blind Compliance
Safety isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about making sure people go home in one piece. But when rules focus more on compliance than actual safety, they can create new hazards.
Take tying off at two steps on a ladder. Some sites require full fall protection as soon as a worker climbs more than a couple of feet. In theory, that sounds great. In reality, those harnesses create tripping hazards. They get tangled in tools and make movement clunky. As a result, workers end up at greater risk of falling.
Or consider mandatory gloves for everything. Hand protection is crucial. Yet, requiring thick gloves for tasks that need dexterity—like electrical work or handling small bolts—can reduce grip. This lack of control can make accidents more likely. In cases like this, an overzealous rule increases risk instead of reducing it.
“You start dismissing all the rules when you’re hit with one that just doesn’t make sense,” said Wes Rundle, a safety manager with years in the trades. “That’s when it gets dangerous—because some rules really do matter. But if people feel like everything’s just being shoved down their throat, they tune out”.
That said, compliance is still critical. Workers should always follow their workplace’s safety policies and defer to official guidelines. The key isn’t to ignore rules but to recognize when a policy could be improved for real-world application. If a rule seems impractical or even unsafe, the right move isn’t to disregard it. Instead, workers should bring concerns to supervisors. Together, they can find solutions that balance compliance with safety effectiveness.
When Rules Make Workers Tune Out
The biggest danger of bad safety policies? They make people ignore the good ones. When workers are forced to follow rules that don’t make sense, they start questioning all safety policies. That’s when serious lapses happen.
John Holmes, who manages safety in wind energy, learned that the hard way.
“Early on, I thought I was helping by laying out all the safety policies. But workers saw them as threats, not support. They thought I was just setting traps to catch them doing something wrong,” he said. “I had to shift. I started asking questions, listening more, and building trust. That’s when they started telling me, ‘This rule isn’t safe for how we actually work.’ That’s the feedback you need”.
If a worker sees management pushing impractical regulations, they may assume all safety measures are just for show. That’s how you end up with people skipping real precautions. They may neglect proper fall protection when it actually matters or fail to lock out machinery before maintenance.
The Balance: Smart Safety, Not Just Strict Safety
The best safety cultures don’t rely on blind rule-following. They train workers to think about safety, assess risks, and make smart decisions.
– Adapt Rules to Reality
Policies should make sense for the actual job. If a rule causes more risk than it prevents, it needs a second look.
– Listen to Workers
The people on the ground know what works and what doesn’t. If they say a rule is dangerous, management should listen. Allan Moore said it best:
- “We’ve all met the ‘safety sheriff’ type—thumbs in the belt loop, gum chewing, looking to catch you messing up. That doesn’t help. You’ve got to listen, build trust, and catch people doing something right. That’s where safety starts”.
– Focus on Outcomes, Not Just Compliance
The goal isn’t to follow rules—it’s to keep people safe. If a policy isn’t doing that, it’s time to rethink it.
The Bottom Line?
Old-school safety rules come from a good place, but when they create more problems than they solve, they need to evolve. Safety isn’t about doing things the old way—it’s about doing them the right way.
Related Articles
- All Posts
- 360 Immersive
- 360immersive
- Alberta safety courses
- Allan James Moore
- awareness
- BambooHR integration
- biometric sensors
- BIS Podcast
- BIS Safety Software
- black holes
- Brave Leadership
- chemical
- chronic injuries
- Coming Soon
- community safety programs
- Compliance
- compliance courses
- compliance tools
- compliance vs protection
- Construction advocacy
- Construction education
- Construction industry
- construction safety training
- crane
- customized training
- daily trip inspection
- Danny Sellers
- data-driven safety
- digital forms
- Dr. Joanna Pagonis
- driver file management
- driver training
- early intervention
- EHS
- Einstein
- emergency preparedness
- emergency supplies
- emotional training
- employee health
- employee safety
- employee training
- ergonomics
- exoskeletons
- fall protection
- field safety
- field safety services
- fire prevention
- first aid kit
- first week on the job
- fleet management
- frontline safety
- gravitational waves
- hands-on training
- hazard communication
- hazard prevention
- Health & Safety Podcast
- heavy equipment safety
- high voltage systems
- HR automation
- HR software
- human-centered safety
- humor in safety
- immersive learning
- Imposter Syndrome
- incident data
- incident reporting
- industrial safety
- injury prevention
- injury reporting
- injury response
- internal audits
- Jennifer Lastra
- job site hazards
- job site risks
- job site safety
- Jody Young
- KBR Safety Training
- Leadership
- leadership accountability
- leadership and empathy
- LIGO
- LMS
- lone workers
- mental health at work
- MI Safety
- new workers
- Northern BC
- NRCA
- NSC Standard 13
- occupational health
- occupational safety
- oil and gas safety
- onboarding safety
- Online safety training
- OSHA compliance
- OSHA standards
- overhead crane courses
- pain awareness
- physics careers
- pipeline safety
- podcast
- PPE
- PPE enforcement
- pre-trip inspection
- pretrip inspection
- Professional development
- psychological safety
- risk management
- road safety
- Robin Postnikoff
- safety
- safety advice
- safety article
- safety best practices
- safety communication
- safety compliance
- Safety Conversations
- safety culture
- safety innovation
- safety insights
- safety inspection
- Safety Leaders
- safety leadership
- safety management
- safety management system
- safety metrics
- safety myths
- safety podcast
- Safety Spotlight
- safety systems
- safety technology
- safety theater
- safety tips
- safety training
- Sinogap Solutions
- smart helmets
- space science
- supervisor training
- Total Recordable Injury Formula
- training
- training courses
- training matrix
- training record management
- transportation
- Trust and Accountability
- vehicle safety
- Virtual Reality
- VR safety training
- VR Technology
- wearable technology
- WHMIS
- women in leadership
- work-alone training
- worker accountability
- worker protection
- worker safety
- workforce management
- workforce training
- workplace best practices
- workplace certification
- Workplace Culture
- workplace hazards
- workplace health
- workplace injury prevention
- workplace risk management
- Workplace safety
- workplace safety culture
- workplace wellness
- WSPS
Home Blog Safer Workplaces Start With Us Every day, we have a choice: work the way we always have, or...
Home Blog ASTEC Safety Named Member of the Year by Utility Safety Partners Recognition like this doesn’t come easy. By...
Home Blog The Problem With Old School Safety Some safety rules save lives. Others? They just make work harder—and sometimes,...
