"How far would Moses have gone if he had taken a poll in Egypt? What would Jesus Christ have preached if he had taken a poll in the land of Israel? What would have happened to the Reformation if Martin Luther had taken a poll? It isn't polls or public opinion of the moment that counts. It is right and wrong and leadership."

--Harry S. Truman

Discipline isn't popular, especially among the supervisors and managers who have to administer it. But it is-or at least should be-an essential teaching experience, particularly in the realm of health and safety. The problem with discipline is that, like any other skill, it takes a certain deftness to carry out. Today's installment is about the proper administration of discipline.

Stages of Discipline

If society is to function, there need to be consequences for infractions. Doing discipline right is largely about selecting the appropriate consequences. Stated simply, the punishment-from the electric chair to the slap on the wrist-must fit the crime. Within the workplace context, the typical way to impose discipline is to do it in stages. The stages of what's generally called progressive discipline include:

Verbal reproofs and warnings. The mildest form of discipline involves forgiving the individual after reproaching him for the unsafe act and warning him not to do it again. In many cases, individuals will learn from their mistakes and not make them again.

Suspension and other forms of punishment. It may be appropriate to take more serious actions against those who commit repeat offenses or first time offenders who do something for which a simple warning isn't enough. Typical punishments include suspension, demotion or fines. But managers should be open to more creative forms of discipline.

One example of a creative punishment is to take away the privilege of social contact. For instance, suppose an employee keeps disrupting a supervisor's safety meetings. After the meeting, the supervisor could call the person aside and inform him that for the next month he'll have to receive safety training alone, without the group. In addition to having a symmetrical quality and imposing consequences for bad behavior, this discipline resolves the problem of disruptions during safety meetings.

Termination. The ultimate punishment is to fire the employee. Termination is appropriate for repeat offenders-the incorrigible. It's also appropriate for extremely serious safety violations, even if the employee has never done anything wrong in the past. We'll talk more about termination next week.

Methods of Imposing Discipline

The delivery of discipline is often just as important as the choice of punishment. My advice: Praise in public, punish in private. This preserves the employee's dignity and minimizes fallout among other employees. Of course, some employees may want to tell their co-workers that they've been disciplined. That's their choice. But we as safety professionals are bound to not talk about others in front of employees.

Another piece of advice is to consider the entire situation. Remember that discipline is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The goal is to correct bad behavior and ensure it doesn't happen again. Consider that sometimes the natural consequences of the bad behavior are enough to accomplish that goal.

For example, an employee who doesn't wear her goggles to break a line might end up getting sprayed in the face with caustic chemicals. The facial burns she suffers as a result are essentially a natural form of discipline. The employee has learned the lesson of what happens to those who don't wear goggles and suspending her for the violation might be just an unnecessary form of piling on.

Last but not least, an essential part of workplace discipline is to document the action in case the employee challenges it in court or arbitration. The task of documentation should be carried out by line supervision and management, not the safety director.

Conclusion

Next week, I'll conclude the series with a look at how to terminate employees for safety violations.

BY THE NUMBERS

There's a 90% chance for an above normal hurricane season

The Upcoming Hurricane Season

By Glenn Demby

The hurricane season officially begins on June 1. How bad will it be? Conditions point to a near or above normal hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Here are some of the notable figures from the NOAA report:

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, May 22, 2008,
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20080522_hurricaneoutlook.html

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