What impacts do boards of directors have on workplace safety?
Found this an interesting extract from a paper I summarised over the weekend (will probably post next week).
It systematically explored the links between boards of directors and their influence on safety.
Of the 49 included studies, they found:
· “Empirical studies gave no insight into the scope of impact of board activities on OHS, and no studies assess the causal mechanisms by which board activities influence OHS outcomes”
· “Given the governing role of directors, it could be argued that they have little direct influence on OHS outcomes. The suggestions made in the findings is rather to influence OHS indirectly through culture, internal control, performance management and organizational structures”
· They found that much of the extant research focused on the indirect board influence via culture, and little evidence on a direct impact
Ref: Ebbevi, D., Schwarz, U. V. T., Hasson, H., Sundberg, C. J., & Frykman, M. (2020). Boards of directors’ influences on occupational health and safety: a scoping review of evidence and best practices. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 14(1), 64-86.
SafetyInsights.org 