In work, repeated behaviour often stubbornly survives because it solves something. It fulfills a function. Sociologist Niklas Luhmann tended to ask three reflection questions (Luhmann, 1976):

 

1. If a recurring behaviour is a ‘solution’, what’s the real problem?
   Organisations justify Take 5's policies by referring to heedfulness, planning, etc. But Jop Havinga and colleagues' research shows no evidence they do this. (Havinga et al, 2022). The real problem that drives workers to complete Take 5's is anxiety, demonstration due diligence, etc. This however, create an illusion of control just like an indicator such as the Total Recordable Injury Rate. The paperwork reassures managers more than it helps workers.

 

2. What functional equivalents could we use instead?

There are many options:
- Task huddles at the coalface to agree hazards, controls, and stop conditions.
- Hand-off options so stopping work naturally becomes ‘continue differently’.
- Mentoring and crew pairing instead of forms for novices.
- Independent assurance of critical controls instead of counting cards or injuries.
- System indicators about how work is actually done; evidence about the state of work.

 

3. What unintended consequences might these new solutions bring?
   Our task huddles and assurance systems can, again, drift into ritual or compliance theatre. Measurement can become a new bureaucracy too. To keep them effective:

• Don’t script prompts, but keep them task-specific and conversational;
• Instead of completing checklists, reward stopping and replanning;
• Treat indicators as questions instead of scores;
• Communicate uncertainty instead of the false precision of indicators like TRIR, and fake confidence in the dashboards surrounding work.

 

So, if a problematic behaviour looks like a solution for the people involved, ask: what problem is it really solving? Then build alternatives that make productive work safer instead of just visibly compliant. Because working safely has to do with smart conversations, good tools, and real learning about work.

 

Sources:

Havinga, J. (2022). Should We Cut the Cards? Assessing the Influence of “Take 5” Pre-Task Risk Assessments on Safety. Safety 2022, Vol. 8, Issue 2, https://doi.org/10.3390/safety8020027.

Luhmann, N. (1976). Funktionen und Folgen formaler Organisation. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.