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Ensuring social safety is more than a moral obligation

We all agree that people should feel safe at work, school, and public spaces, which is why social safety is a hot topic. However, it is also a label that is used indiscriminately for situations that people find unpleasant. There needs to be a solution to this critical issue.
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First, it is essential to clarify what we mean by this. Social safety means safeguarding people from cross-border and undesirable behaviour. Examples include inappropriate comments, verbal aggression, and sexual harassment. Unfortunately, these cannot be tolerated but are commonplace within many (work) environments. It is essential that organisations fully understand how to ensure and enhance social safety. This requires an approach on three fronts.


Structure

Reducing hierarchical differences within an organisation is essential to ensuring social safety. This can be done by splitting functional and hierarchical managerial tasks and making teams smaller. Addressing existing power structures reduces the likelihood of power abuse.


Culture

Organisations can encourage culture change through exemplary leadership behaviour and properly equipping employees. For the correct behaviour, employees need to know, want, and be able, but also dare and be allowed. Training, codes of conduct, and e-learning can be valuable tools, but organisations should start with an analysis: What could be better in the current culture? From that analysis, choose the suitable means, deploy those means, and evaluate the effect. This is how you build a socially safe environment little by little.


Support system

Many organisations make genuine efforts to ensure social safety, but practice often leaves much to be desired. More is needed to have a policy or complaints procedure on paper; it must work. This requires a solid support system consisting of a place for low-threshold and safe reporting, accessible confidants and transparent and straightforward arrangements. Ensure that people know where to turn with what they are worried about and that there is proper follow-up and adequate aftercare.


Social safety makes organisations more vital

Social safety is a moral obligation and essential for organisational performance. Organisations with social insecurity often experience higher staff turnover, lower productivity, and a poor working atmosphere. This leads to higher costs and lower quality of work. So, there are plenty of reasons to make social safety a spearhead of any organisation's policy.