Right Habit, Safe Habit

Everybody needs a hand from time to time, whether it’s help with a tough job, special advice on tackling a new or unfamiliar job, or the expert’s word on handling potentially dangerous equipment and materials.

Even more critical is the helping hand for new employees on the job. Because that’s when they form habits that carry them through their whole work career. That’s why the beginner, from the first day on the job, must learn his or her job the right way and the safe way.

Smart foremen, supervisors, and workers know that they are all creatures of habit, and they know how to make habits work for their own benefit:

• Right habits eliminate mistakes that endanger lives.
• Right habits carry workers safely through their shifts without indecision or unsure acts that can cause accidents.
• Right habits can build a reserve of attention and energy that allows workers to be alert to dangers.
• Right habits are efficient, eliminating waste of time and making any job easier.

The right habit is constructive, making many chores routine and even automatic. With right habits, there may even be time left over to think about how to do a better job—safer, more productive, more satisfying.

And best of all, doing things right—the first time and every time—not only makes the work itself safer and more successful and satisfying, it also contributes to a spirit of friendly teamwork with fellow employees.

And doing your part to promote cooperation and teamwork is another habit worth developing—and another way to set a good example.