Last year I attended a CPD session courtesy of the Lancashire Occupational Health and Safety Group and Paul Difford on behalf of the IIAI. The topic was accident investigation and the approaches to accident investigation.
It was a great session and I shall share a little laugh but we shall never speak of it again...when asking Paul to sign my copy of his book I actually forgot how to spell my own name, my first name, Melissa! Chris Knagg CFIOSH FIIRSM FCMI FISQEM won't let me live it down...
Alright, now let's get to the point.
Paul got us thinking about consequences in a simple situation of wearing PPE vs not wearing PPE. Typical health and safety responses came up as to consequences of not wearing PPE. As health and safety professionals we are conditioned to think like this; 'personal ill health' and 'injury'. It took a short while to get the group to think about consequences in a bit more detail and from the users point of view.

Changing the Way We Think

Consequences are good and bad, we know this right? Do we pay attention to how immediate those consequences are? Probably not unless it is brought to our attention...usually by something going wrong.
Something I have heard often in my career: 'these safety glasses are cheap and sh!t but we have to wear them'. This tells me the individual understands the reasons the safety glasses are required. Rules are in place, whether is it a blanket policy or specific risk assessment. It also tells me the glasses are 'cheap' (i.e. not the best quality) and the wearer is not happy!
Let's think about what cheap can mean; uncomfortable, easily broken (damaged or scratched), not fit for purpose, at least on the most basic level. On a deeper level it can mean 'money matters most', 'good enough attitude', 'my comfort isn't important' and 'I'm not listened to'.
Take a minute to think about this and you might hear yourself say things like 'there is a budget' and 'they are made to the same standards' and 'but they don't look after anything'.

Consequences

The consequences of the cheap glasses are usually that people will not wear them. What are they doing?! they are risking their eyesight intentionally!? No, not intentionally, their discomfort is being compromised, they may find it difficult to do their job and be left feeling distracted and irritated.
No disciplinary, no conversations about safety and they got the job done without injury...
Hmm, do they really need these glasses if they can get the job done and still get paid plus bonuses for meeting (or even exceeding) targets?
Next time health and safety do their walk around 'Where are your glasses? You signed up to these RAMS it is a breach of policy, I have to stop the works and put it in my report'. The worker puts their glasses on while health and safety are walking around because this could lead to a disciplinary... only if they are caught.
This turns into 'H&S are here put your glasses on' being an acceptable approach. The health and safety advisor becomes the problem. Health and Safety Advisors can speak to management about further investment in PPE 'budget won't allow it right now' and 'they will just have to wear them or buy their own if they want better'. Leaving the Health and Safety Advisor in the middle.

Rock and a Hard Place

Us health and safety folk aren't robots, we are humans. The Health and Safety Advisor is now in the place where:

• We are empathetic with workers but it feels false because the glasses and rules aren't being changed - potentially out of the Advisor's control, maybe the insurance risk review determined the PPE was required, maybe it's a budget decision.
• We are empathetic with management. A business has got to make money and 'the workers always have something to complain about'.
• The Health and Safety Advisor understands the true costs of injury. To management this potentially isn't a problem until it is a problem. To the workers it's so distant a consequence it isn't considered.

Investment

Investing in PPE is investing in people.
Seemingly small things can change the course of the way a business operates. It can:

• Help change the culture within the business,
• Promote the reporting of concerns and accidents to prevent re-occurrence,
• Increase productivity;

to name but 3.

Making Change

Take a minute to ask employees what does and doesn't work for them. Most importantly take action on this feedback. Share reasons why something might not work or will be implemented in the future.
Understanding the reasons why people behave the way they do is huge. Life isn't just about right or wrong, not many people set out to intentionally break rules day in day out. They usually act in a way they feel is the right way at the time, again, this can be down to something like discomfort.
Communication is key to making positive changes work.
Paul's book is available to buy: https://amzn.eu/d/i8plEx1 (if you were interested in reading!).