Many injuries and fatalities both inside and outside the workplace occur as a result of impatience. When people talk about defensive driving, they’re really talking about preparation, awareness, and most importantly PATIENCE!

     It can be very difficult to avoid being impatient when your supervisor is rushing you and/or other workers to meet urgent deadlines. However, in order to meet those deadlines safely and put forth your best work you need to practice patience. 

Specific Example Of The Impact Of Patience

     For example, say you are working for a concrete contractor using scaffolding to pour concrete into wooden molds to create a sturdy wall. When the time comes to take down the scaffolding, your supervisor says that you need to clean the concrete powder off of the scaffold planks and hurry up to perform work on a different part of the job site. The water hose and HEPA vacuum are at your contractors laydown yard on the other side of the job site and all that’s nearby is an air hose. You might be tempted to just blow all of the dust off of the planks and move on to your next task (quick and easy right?), even though you know the dangers associated with silica dust. Having the patience to go retrieve the vacuum, water hose, and respiratory protection from the laydown yard protects not only yourself, but coworkers around you that might have been exposed to silica dust kicked up by the air hose.

     I know this is a very specific example to give, but that is because I experienced someone who took the impatient route in this very scenario!

General Examples Of Impatience Causing Injury

• A worker goes to quickly replace a lightbulb on the ceiling. Instead of grabbing an A-frame ladder from the tool shed, the worker uses a bucket sitting nearby to stand on and falls off it, fracturing their hip.
• A worker driving to work on a rainy day. They’re running late to their job and determine they need to speed up to make it on time. The road conditions are slick and they spin off the road into a ditch on the side of the road. They make it out with only a broken arm but their car is totaled and they will have to find another way to get to work for quite some time.
• A worker forgets their company-provided hardhat when going to work one day. There are no extras at the site as the company is still waiting for a shipment to come in. They figure that there’s only going to be overhead work for a short period of time and it’ll be okay to work without it for a day. Mid-shift a person working above drops their tape measure and it strikes the back edge of the workers head causing a serious laceration. The worker is away form work for 30 days.

Ask Yourself This

• It the potential injury worth time saved?
• Am I putting others at risk by being impatient?
• What would my family think about this decision?
• How can I be more patient during risky tasks?