Picture this for a second.
A worker notices a shortcut that is quietly becoming “the way we do it,” and they can see exactly how it could end in a serious injury.
They hesitate, they look around, they decide it is not worth being labeled difficult, and they say nothing.
That moment is not just a communication problem.
It is an OH&S risk problem, because silence is how weak controls stay weak, how near misses stay hidden, and how your system slowly loses its ability to learn before someone gets hurt.
When speaking up feels unsafe, you do not just lose feedback.
You lose early warning signals, and early warning signals are the cheapest and most reliable form of incident prevention you will ever get.
Most organizations do not have workers going silent overnight.
Over time, workers learn a simple lesson.
This is why psychological safety matters to OH&S in a very practical way.
Psychological safety is basically the shared belief that you can raise concerns, ask questions, and admit mistakes without being punished or humiliated, which means people are more willing to surface risk early instead of after the damage is done.
That concept is heavily connected to safety performance because a workplace can have decent paperwork and still be unsafe if no one dares to talk when controls are failing.
Here is the uncomfortable truth.
If your workplace culture makes speaking up feel unsafe, you are not only increasing risk, you may also be colliding with legal expectations around worker participation and protections from reprisal.
Across Canada, workers have the right to refuse unsafe or dangerous work, and the process requires that the concern is reported and addressed, which only works when workers can speak up without fear.
Alberta’s guidance is very clear that workers are protected from reprisal for exercising this right, and employers cannot threaten or take disciplinary action because a worker used their OH&S rights.
On top of that, violence and harassment are explicitly treated as workplace hazards in many jurisdictions, and those hazards can include threats, intimidation, and abusive behavior that directly shut down reporting and participation.
If people feel bullied into silence, that is not “personality conflict,” it is a hazard that undermines the safety management system.
A lot of leaders genuinely believe their door is open, and sometimes it is.
However, the system around them can still punish truth-telling even when the leader’s intentions are good.
Here are a few common system-level drivers that quietly teach people to keep their heads down.
If workers see deadlines win every argument, then they stop raising issues that might slow the job down.
If investigations focus on rule-breaking and discipline, people learn that reporting is self-incrimination.
If nothing changes after reporting, workers conclude that reporting is pointless, which is a form of learned helplessness.
If one supervisor reacts well and another reacts harshly, workers will behave based on the harshest reaction, because that is the safest bet.
Even if management does not punish reporting, crews sometimes do, and the social cost can be enough to shut down honesty.
If you want to fix silence, you have to treat it like a hazard pathway, not like a motivation problem.
The question is not “why are workers so quiet,” it is “what are we doing that makes silence the rational choice.”
You do not need a massive culture program to start turning this around.
You need credibility, consistency, and a way to prove that speaking up leads to better control, not backlash.
If near-miss reporting is near zero, that is not automatically good news.
If your hazard reports are vague, if your corrective actions are always “retrain,” if your safety meetings feel like one-way announcements, those are signs you are not hearing the real story.
Then focus on a few concrete actions that change the cost-benefit math for workers.
If it takes fifteen minutes and three signatures to report a hazard, silence will win.
A quick acknowledgement and immediate stabilization step tells workers their concern matters.
If a worker reports a hazard or near miss in good faith, your first move should be control and learning, not blame.
People speak up again when they see that speaking up produces action, and that action is visible.
Critical controls are proven in the field, which means leaders need to show up, verify, and remove barriers.
If you want one small practice that is surprisingly powerful, do this.
At the end of a safety meeting, ask, “What is one thing we are not talking about that could hurt someone,” then wait long enough that the silence gets uncomfortable, because that pause communicates you actually want the truth.
A lot of leaders try to fix silence with slogans.
Slogans do not work when people have lived experience that tells them the opposite.
What works is response behavior that is predictable and fair.
Thank the person and get specific about what you heard.
Take a quick stabilization action if there is immediate risk.
Explain the next step and timeline in plain language.
Follow up with what changed, and if nothing changed, explain why and what is being done instead.
This is not about being “nice.”
It is about building trust in the system, because trust is what allows early reporting, and early reporting is what allows prevention.
If your workers have gone quiet, you do not need a generic motivational talk.
You need system fixes that make speaking up safe, useful, and routine, and you need leaders and supervisors who can apply those fixes consistently.
Calgary Safety Consultants can help you in a few high-impact ways.
We can review your incident reporting and investigation program and rebuild it around control failure and system learning, so reporting is less threatening and more useful.
We can create or improve your hazard reporting process so it is simple, accessible, and clearly tied to corrective action quality and verification, not paperwork.
We can deliver supervisor and leadership training that focuses on real response skills, including how to receive bad news, how to stabilize risk, how to avoid blame traps, and how to close the loop with credibility.
We can audit your corrective action process to reduce “checkbox closure,” strengthen assignment and due dates, and add effectiveness checks so workers see real results.
We can help you align violence and harassment prevention planning with OH&S expectations, because intimidation and retaliation kill reporting faster than almost anything else.
Most importantly, we can help you translate “psychological safety” from a buzzword into daily operating practices, because culture changes when people experience new patterns repeatedly, not when they hear a new message once.
If your workers stop speaking up because it feels unsafe to tell the truth, your organization does not just lose honesty.
It loses its ability to see risk early, which means the first time you learn about a serious hazard might be the day someone gets hurt.
The fix is not complicated, but it is demanding.
You have to make truth-telling safe, you have to make it worth it, and you have to prove it through consistent actions that workers can see in the field.
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). “Right to Refuse Dangerous Work.” https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/legislation/right_to_refuse.html
Government of Alberta. “Refuse Dangerous Work.” https://www.alberta.ca/refuse-dangerous-work
Government of Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada). “Right to Refuse Dangerous Work.” https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/health-safety/reports/right-refuse.html
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). “Violence in the Workplace.” https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/violence/violence.html
Government of Alberta. “Workplace Harassment and Violence.” https://www.alberta.ca/workplace-harassment-violence
Amy C. Edmondson. “Psychological Safety.” https://amycedmondson.com/psychological-safety/
American Psychological Association (APA). “Work in America Report 2024: Psychological Safety.” https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-in-america/2024/psychological-safety
It usually means workers expect a negative consequence, like blame, humiliation, discipline, or being labeled a problem, which causes them to stay quiet about hazards, near misses, and control weaknesses.
Silence removes early warning signals, which means hazards and weak controls remain uncorrected until a serious incident forces attention, and that delay increases the likelihood and severity of harm.
You often see near-miss reports drop to almost zero, hazard reports become vague, corrective actions repeat “retrain,” supervisors become the only source of “feedback,” and the same issues show up again without real fixes.
Calgary Safety Consultants is here to help you ensure compliance, enhance safety, and streamline your OH&S program. Don’t wait—fill out the form, and we’ll connect with you to discuss how we can support your business. Let’s get started!
Calgary Safety Consultants delivers game-changing COR Audits and OH&S consulting designed to keep your business safe, compliant, and accident-free. With 30+ years of expertise in high-risk industries like oil & gas, construction, and manufacturing, we understand the unique challenges you face. We offer tailored safety solutions that not only meet regulatory standards but also reduce operational risks and protect your workforce. From conducting thorough safety audits to implementing comprehensive safety management systems, we ensure your team is fully supported. Our hands-on, collaborative approach means we're with you every step of the way, helping you achieve a safer, more efficient workplace. Let us handle the heavy lifting so your team stays protected, and your business thrives!
