What needs to be in place for everyone to be safe? That’s the question we asked during Anglo American’s annual Global Safety Day, part of our journey to ensuring that all our colleagues get to experience an environment that is physically and psychologically safe.
At Anglo American, our first priority is the safety and wellbeing of our teams, with the goal being to shape a safety culture where no one is ever put in harm’s way, whether in the workplace or in their personal lives.
Key to this endeavour is Safety 365. A year-long campaign, it was designed in recognition of the fact that our safety journey never ends. Spanning our entire organisation, it encourages all employees to put our company values into action.
A critical foundation of the programme this year is psychological safety. That’s because, while there are many measures in place to keep us safe – including standards, processes and procedures, critical controls, tools and resources (the ‘hardware’) – we must not fail to synthesise these with a strong internal safety culture that is felt and a ‘safe space’ for all (the ‘software’).
Driving a positive culture is key
That means focusing on the various different psychological elements that support or undermine our safety – each of which are aligned with our Anglo American values – and the role we all have to play in sustaining or changing them:
- Feeling empowered to speak up, raise issues and refuse to undertake unsafe work (Safety)
- Embracing diversity in all its forms, enabling all colleagues to belong, and speaking up against bullying and inappropriate behaviour (Care and Respect)
- Raising issues – even when something is uncomfortable – and making the right choices for our colleagues, communities and business (Integrity)
- Knowing what our roles and responsibilities are, owning our decisions, having the courage to admit our mistakes and ensuring that we learn from them (Accountability)
- Being open to working with colleagues to share ideas and knowledge, and to find innovative and creative solutions (Collaboration)
- Feeling empowered to challenge the status quo, asking questions and thinking creatively. Accepting the possibility of failure and learning from it (Innovation)
Why does this matter?
A global survey conducted during the pandemic by McKinsey1 highlighted the importance of working in a positive team climate; one in which employees are empowered to speak up and share their concerns, questions or ideas. Failing to provide such an environment is a potential consequence of low levels of psychological safety and has been known to affect performance, quality and safety2.
That’s why, at Anglo American, we put great emphasis on psychological safety. It's an important part of our safety culture and we have programmes in place to ensure that everyone working within our organisation feels comfortable to speak up, contribute ideas, share information, be heard and feel empowered to reach their full potential.
The topic of psychological safety was further emphasised on 14 October, our annual Global Safety Day. This is a firm fixture on the Anglo American calendar and an important part of our Safety 365 agenda. With the theme of ‘Safe to Always Be Safe’, this year we explored what it takes to create a safe workplace from the outside and the inside. We also celebrated team members who are active in speaking up, stopping work when it’s unsafe to continue, championing the rules, considering the perspectives of others, sharing ideas, supporting their teammates, and listening and responding in the right way.
Peter Whitcutt, CEO of Anglo American’s Marketing business, said: “Safeguarding the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and everyone who is affected by our work is a non-negotiable for us.
“Achieving this requires a robust safety culture, as part of which people feel safe and empowered to raise their hand and actively contribute to shaping the right environment for all of us to thrive. Our culture and behaviours play a crucial role, which is why our initiatives around psychological safety are particularly important”.
1 ‘Psychological safety and the critical role of leadership development’, McKinsey & Company, February 11, 2021: https://mck.co/38FusJG
2 ‘Psychological Safety: How Pioneers Create Engaged Workforces’, Joost Minnaar, Corporate Rebels: https://bit.ly/3tbcrMN
