--- title: Defining Safety Culture in the Workplace description: Evaluating your safety culture can help management understand safety perceptions across the organization, identify weak areas and prioritize actions. image: https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/safety-culture-424.jpg --- ISN NEWS > [ADM Selects ISN® to Help Streamline Global Contractor Management](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/adm-selects-isn?hsLang=en) [Terra-Gen Selects ISN® to Help Streamline Contractor Management and Strengthen Safety Processes](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/terra-gen-selects-isn?hsLang=en) [National Grid Celebrates 17-Year Partnership with ISN®](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/national-grid-celebrates-17-years-with-isn?hsLang=en) [Buckman Selects ISN® to Unify Contractor Management Across Operations](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/buckman-selects-isn?hsLang=en) [McEwen Inc. Selects ISNetworld® to Help Advance Sustainability Goals and Strengthen Jobsite Safety](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/mcewen-inc-selects-isnetworld?hsLang=en) Need Assistance? [FAQs](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/faqs) [Contact Us](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contact-us) - Solutions - [ISNetworld Platform](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-software) - [For Hiring Clients](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-software/hiring-clients) - [For Contractors / Suppliers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-software/contractors-suppliers) - [Empower™](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/empower) - [For Workers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/empower) - [Services](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services) - [Contractor Prequalification & Ongoing Monitoring](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/contractor-prequalification-ongoing-monitoring) - [HSE Management](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/hse-management) - [Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG)](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/environmental-social-governance) - [Safety Culture](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/safety-culture) - [Supply Chain Cybersecurity](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/supply-chain-cybersecurity) - [Insurance & Financial Risk Management](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/insurance-financial-risk-management) - [Employee-Level Training & Qualifications](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/employee-level-training-qualifications) - [Third-Party Data](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/third-party-data) - [Analytics & Reporting](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/analytics-reporting) - Our Customers - [Hiring Clients](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/our-customers/hiring-clients) - [Contractors / Suppliers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/our-customers/contractors-suppliers) - Events - ISNetworld Events - [Upcoming Events](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/events) - Newsroom - [News](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/news) - [Blog](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/blog) - [Publications](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/publications) - [Video Library](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/video-library) - About - [Company Overview](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/company-overview) - [Global Operations](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/global-operations) - [Leadership](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/leadership-team) - [Boards of Directors](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/boards-of-directors) - [In the Community](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/in-the-community) - [Careers at ISN](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/careers) - Solutions - [ISNetworld Platform](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-software) - [For Hiring Clients](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-software/hiring-clients) - [For Contractors/Suppliers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-software/contractors-suppliers) - [Empower™](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/empower) - [For Workers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/empower) - [Services](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services) - [Contractor Prequalification & Ongoing Monitoring](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/contractor-prequalification-ongoing-monitoring) - [HSE Management](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/hse-management) - [Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG)](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/environmental-social-governance) - [Safety Culture](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/safety-culture) - [Supply Chain Cybersecurity](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/supply-chain-cybersecurity) - [Insurance & Financial Risk Management](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/insurance-financial-risk-management) - [Employee-Level Training & Qualifications](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/employee-level-training-qualifications) - [Third-Party Data](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/third-party-data) - [Analytics & Reporting](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/analytics-reporting) - Our Customers - [Hiring Clients](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/our-customers/hiring-clients) - [Contractors & Suppliers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/our-customers/contractors-suppliers) - Events - [Upcoming Events](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/events) - Newsroom - [News](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/news) - [Blog](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/blog) - [Publications](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/publications) - [Video Library](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/video-library) - About - [Company Overview](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/company-overview) - [Global Operations](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/global-operations) - [Leadership](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/leadership-team) - [Boards of Directors](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/boards-of-directors) - [In the Community](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/in-the-community) - [Careers at ISN](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/careers) [Customer Sign Up](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/signup) - English - [English](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/) - [Deutsch](https://www.isnetworld.com/de/) - [Español](https://www.isnetworld.com/es/) - [Français](https://www.isnetworld.com/fr/) - [Nederlands](https://www.isnetworld.com/nl/) - [Norsk](https://www.isnetworld.com/nb/) - [Português](https://www.isnetworld.com/pt/) - [한국어](https://www.isnetworld.com/ko/) [Schedule a Demo](https://share.hsforms.com/1SD4hMp-rTOi-vn_9HOcHGwd1n43) [![Login](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/21911619/7f962a4a-4f3f-4156-bfa0-8707e05c5bfe.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/21911619/7f962a4a-4f3f-4156-bfa0-8707e05c5bfe) [Back to all blogs](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog) ### Sep 2, 2020 ## Defining Safety Culture in the Workplace ##### Written By: ##### ISN Team ##### Read Time: ##### 3 min read 2 September 2020 / [Safety Culture](https://insights.isnetworld.com/tag/safety-culture/?hsLang=en) # Defining Safety Culture in the Workplace ![Defining Safety Culture in the Workplace](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/safety-culture-424.jpg) **Key takeaways:** An organization’s safety culture, or its workforce’s perceptions of the organization’s commitment to a safe work environment, is critical to improving safety performance and reducing serious incident rates. Read more about the history of and evaluating your safety culture, which can help identify weak areas within your system and prioritize actions. [The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates](https://www.ilo.org/moscow/areas-of-work/occupational-safety-and-health/WCMS_249278/lang--en/index.htm) that each year, 2.3 million workers worldwide die from a work-related injury or illness. Since the mid- ‘90s, safety literature has shifted away from employee-level factors that might be responsible for accidents and incidents, such as error or non-compliance with safety procedures, towards broader organizational factors such as safety culture and climate. Safety culture can be defined as a collective set of attitudes, values, norms, beliefs and practices that employees of an organization and its contractors and subcontractors share with respect to safety. Industry experts, specialists and organizations, such as the [United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission](https://www.nrc.gov/) (NRC), suggest safety culture is essential to the overall safety performance of an organization. It can have a direct impact on work-related incidents and injuries. Because of this, many organizations have begun to ask how they can gauge the health of their safety culture. An organization’s safety culture, or its workforce’s perceptions of the organization’s commitment to a safe work environment, is critical to improving safety performance and reducing serious incident rates. As worksites adjust to the new COVID-19 reality, a strong safety culture, which now includes health concerns, has become even more critical. ![Safety culture is the workforce’s perceptions of the organization’s commitment to a safe work environment.](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/safety-culture-800-1-1.jpg?width=800&height=533&name=safety-culture-800-1-1.jpg) Safety culture is the workforce’s perceptions of the organization’s commitment to a safe work environment. Safety culture can be difficult to measure. Many organizational culture surveys focus on issues related to Human Resources or employee engagement. Feedback from ISN Hiring Client subscribers shows these HR engagements rarely provide actionable feedback for safety professionals and seldom capture the perceptions from the contractor and subcontractor perspective despite their involvement in many high-risk activities for clients. **A Brief History of Safety Culture** All too often it takes a serious incident to get the attention of industry, regulators, governments and even the public. When these parties become involved, the result often includes requirements for measuring, improving, and reporting on operational elements that effect the environment, employees, contractors or the public. Examples include a focus on the adequacy of an organization’s safety culture within the [International Atomic Energy Agency’s](https://www.iaea.org/) (IAEA) [report on the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor incident](https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub913e_web.pdf). As a result, safety culture has become a foundational aspect of safety and working in the nuclear energy industry around the world. Likewise, the [American Petroleum Institute](https://www.api.org/) (API) created Recommended Practice (RP) 1173 to assist operators in the pipeline industry with creating, managing and improving their Pipeline Management Program (PMP). RP1173 has seen a large number of operators adopting the practice as standard operating procedure. A culture of safety is a prominent element of any PMP and operators following the process must ensure key indicators are established, measured, validated and improved. These indicators lead to a measurement of safety culture as a key performance indicator and improvement marker. **Why has measuring Safety Culture become more prominent?** Over the past 20 years, ISN contractor customer data shows a significant decrease in recordable incident rates; however, Serious Incidents and Fatalities (SIFs) are declining at a much slower pace. Based on this metric, there has been a prominent shift of focus among industry thought leaders towards life-altering events versus other recordable incidents. Leaders are shifting away from lagging indicators to leading indicators and leaning into an approach that is expectant and proactive. [In a survey conducted by ISN](http://info.isnetworld.com/orangebook), 75% of the surveyed Hiring Clients believe improving safety culture and value alignment is an effective approach to reducing SIFs. This same group of respondents indicated they expect the outsourcing of their work to contractors to increase or remain the same. The increase in outsourcing increases risk exposure and creates other challenges for Hiring Clients; however, contractors usually bring an expertise and skillset to the task they are contracted to complete. The idea that companies should capture feedback and include contractors and subcontractors in the overall workplace safety culture conversations is not limited to Hiring Clients. In fact, ISO recently released [ISO 45001:2018](https://www.iso.org/standard/63787.html) as an international standard for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S). The standard requires all workers to be part of the consultation and decision-making process surrounding workplace safety culture. The standard now defines “worker” to include contractors as well as employees. According to ISO 45001:2018 Clause 5, safety culture is characterized in part by several factors, including: - Active participation of workers (both client and contractor employees). - Cooperation and communications founded on mutual trust. - Shared perceptions of the importance of the OH&S management system. - Active involvement in detection of OH&S opportunities. - Confidence in the effectiveness of preventive and protective measures. **Assess. Address. Evolve.** Best-in-class organizations that seek to improve their safety culture follow a similar process in their transformation journeys. That is, leadership clearly defines and communicates the organization’s goals down to the front-line worker, ensuring they understand the importance of assessing areas of strength, weakness and potential risk for the organization. They also capture feedback from the contractor and subcontractor perspective. Leaders across best-in-class organizations ensure the company acts on key areas of opportunity and communicates results and actions back to the workforce throughout the process. In the spirit of continuous improvement, they address and reassess improvements periodically, usually at least every 18-24 months. Evaluating your safety culture can help management understand the perceptions of safety across the organization’s operation, identify weak areas within your system and prioritize actions. Having a pulse on the safety culture allows you to implement policies or procedures to help proactively mitigate risk. Clear and consistent communication from the top down about these changes can help the workforce adapt to changing conditions, which is crucial amid a crisis. To learn more about how we can help assess your safety culture, please reach out to ISN at monarch@isn.com. ![ISN Team](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/ISN_logo_RGB_D_A36_Rectangle_37_pattern@2x-1-Nov-16-2022-09-04-23-0227-PM.png) #### [ISN Team](https://insights.isnetworld.com/author/isn/?hsLang=en) Read [more posts](https://insights.isnetworld.com/author/isn/?hsLang=en) by this author. [Read More](https://insights.isnetworld.com/author/isn/?hsLang=en) - ##### Share Story: - [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/defining-safety-culture-in-the-workplace) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/defining-safety-culture-in-the-workplace&text=Defining%20Safety%20Culture%20in%20the%20Workplace) - [LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/defining-safety-culture-in-the-workplace) ## Related Articles ### [Jul 22, 2025 Blattner Chooses ISNetworld® to Help Improve Subcontractor Management ISN will now assist top EPC company with enhancing safety and compliance on renewable energy projects. Keep Reading](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/blattner-chooses-isnetworld-to-help-improve-subcontractor-management?hsLang=en) ### [Jul 1, 2025 Borea Construction Implements ISNetworld® to Standardize Subcontractor Oversight Leading renewable energy contractor partners with ISN®to elevate jobsite safety across expanding renewable projects. Keep Reading](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/borea-construction-implements-isnetworld-to-standardize-subcontractor-oversight?hsLang=en) ### [Jan 21, 2025 ISNetworld® Selected by RWE for Contractor Management of United States Business Keep Reading](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/isnetworld-selected-by-rwe-for-contractor-management-of-united-states-business?hsLang=en) [View All](https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog) ![ISN Logo](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/footer-logo-ins.png?width=200&name=footer-logo-ins.png "ISN Logo") - [Contact Us](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contact-us) - [FAQ](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/faqs) - [Media Relations](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/media-relations) - [User Agreements](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/user-agreements/contractor-supplier) - [Privacy](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/privacy-policy) - [Trademark Logo Policy](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/trademark-logo/policy) - [Sitemap](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/sitemap) - [Contact Us](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contact-us) - [FAQ](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/faqs) - [Media Relations](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/media-relations) - [User Agreements](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/user-agreements/contractor-supplier) - [Privacy](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/privacy-policy) - [Trademark Logo Policy](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/trademark-logo/policy) - [Sitemap](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/sitemap) Request a demo [![Follow us on Twitter](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/Twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/isnetworld) [![Connect on LinkedIn](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/LinkedIn.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/isn/) [![Connect on Facebook](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/Facebook.png)](https://www.facebook.com/ISNetworld/) - ISNetworld Platform - [For Hiring Clients](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-software/hiring-clients) - [For Contractors / Suppliers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-software/contractors-suppliers) - Empower Platform - [For Workers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/empower) - Services - [Contractor Prequalification & Ongoing Monitoring](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/contractor-prequalification-ongoing-monitoring) - [HSE Management](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/hse-management) - [Environmental, Social, & Governance](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/environmental-social-governance) - [Safety Culture](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/safety-culture) - [Supply Chain Cybersecurity](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/safety-culture) - [Insurance & Financial Risk Management](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/insurance-financial-risk-management) - [Employee Level Training & Qualifications](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/employee-level-training-qualifications) - [Third-Party Data](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/third-party-data) - [Analytics & Reporting](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/contractor-management-services/analytics-reporting) - Our Customers - [Hiring Clients](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/our-customers/hiring-clients) - [Contractors & Suppliers](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/our-customers/contractors-suppliers) - Events - [Upcoming Events](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/events) - Newsroom - [News](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/news) - [Blog](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/blog) - [Publications](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/publications) - [Video Library](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/newsroom/video-library) - About - [Company Overview](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/company-overview) - [Global Operations](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/global-operations) - [Leadership](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/leadership-team) - [Boards of Directors](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/boards-of-directors) - [In the Community](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/in-the-community) - [Careers at ISN](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/about/careers) ### Download the ISN App [![Download on Google Play](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/Google-Play.png?width=200&name=Google-Play.png "Download on Google Play")](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.isnetworld.App&hl=en_US) [![Download on Apple Store](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/App-Store.png?width=200&name=App-Store.png "Download on Apple Store")](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/isnetworld/id1060652856?mt=8) Request a demo --- Follow us on: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ISNetworld/) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/isnetworld) [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/isn/)     ![DNV-GL](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/DNV-GL.png) ![A-LIGN-Logo](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/A-LIGN-Logo.png) ![BBB_white](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/BBB_white.png) ![Seal-ICSS](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/Seal-ICSS.png) ![Campbell-Institute-logo](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/Campbell-Institute-logo.png) ![NSC_white](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/NSC_white.png) ![ISSP-Member-white](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/ISSP-Member-white.png) ![GRI](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/GRI.png) ![Cisco_white](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/Cisco_white.png)     Copyright © 2026 ISN Software Corporation [![Cisco Webex logo](https://insights.isnetworld.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/IsnetWorld_December2022/images/Cisco_white.png?width=200&name=Cisco_white.png "Cisco Webex logo")](https://isnetworld.webex.com/webappng/sites/isnetworld/dashboard?siteurl=isnetworld) ### Request A Demo Fill out the form below and an ISN Team member will contact you to share how ISNetworld can help streamline your contractor management process. \* Company Classification × - Hiring Client - Contractor/Supplier [Submit](https://www.isnetworld.com/en/signup) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "ISN Team", "url" : "https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/author/isn-team" }, "dateModified" : "2022-11-16T21:06:17.104Z", "datePublished" : "2020-09-02T05:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Defining Safety Culture in the Workplace", "image" : [ "https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/safety-culture-424.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://insights.isnetworld.com/isn-blog/defining-safety-culture-in-the-workplace", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://insights.isnetworld.com/hubfs/ISN%20Logos/TCYLogo.png" }, "name" : "ISN" } } ```