Organisations today are facing serious challenges on two fronts: the unrelenting march of constant change and uncertainty, and the need to leverage human resources effectively in a highly competitive business climate. The result is a breakdown in organisational culture, where the reciprocal sense of loyalty and recognition is degraded to the point that employees and leaders alike become disengaged. When it comes to safety, this may have catastrophic consequences. While organisations have effectively followed the lead of high-reliability industries and heavy industry in establishing controls to eliminate injuries, the fact remains that a disengaged workforce will be significantly less likely to engage with these controls. Despite all the best engineering controls and safe operating practices in place, safety success is still predicated on an engaged workforce. How can organisations rise to meet these realities and inspire their people to involve themselves beyond mere compliance? This exemplary safety performance can only be achieved through a motivated, empowered, and cohesive workforce that genuinely values safety – in essence, an organisation of safety ‘citizens’.

Where traditional approaches target compliance or ‘behaviour-based’ safety, which over time tend toward a ‘plateau’ effect in safety performance, Citizenship represents the next stage of safety culture development. Based on the concept of ‘organisational citizenship’ (the idea that when employees are engaged they become active members of an organisation’s culture, driving positive discretionary behaviours) as ‘safety citizens’, employees are deeply committed to the organisation’s safety values and go out of their way to go above the minimum standard.