I recently attended a one-day seminar on how to reinforce desired behavior by accentuating the positive. In the seminar, we were taught how to avoid caviling. I didn't know what "caviling" meant. So during our first break I asked around and found out it's a fancy word for nit-picking. I had no idea I'd been caviling for all these years.

Trying a More Positive Training Approach

So now I guess I should quit all this caviling and start figuring out how to "positively reinforce" the safe behavior and overlook the negative. The next time I see a worker not wearing his hard hat, I will not blurt out "where the #$%#*& is your hard hat!" Instead, I'll say this: "John, thank you oh so very much for wearing your boots. I notice you regularly come to work with the proper boots on. It is very commendable that you care about the health and safety of your toes. Now where the #$%#*& is your hard hat?"

No, no, I can't do that. What am I thinking? I was taught during the seminar that even when I notice an unsafe practice I should try to encourage change in a positive manner.

Okay, so let's try this again: "John, thank you oh so very much for wearing your boots. I notice you regularly come to work with the proper boots on. It is very commendable that you care about the health and safety of your lower phalanges. Did you know it is also important to care about your head?"

Of course John, the carpenter, will respond with a positive remark such as, "No, I was unaware that others were concerned about their cranium. I can see by your remark that you wish I would show more care for the upper division of my body, which contains my brain. With much appreciation, I shall take your remark under consideration. I am confident that it will have a positive effect on my future behavior."

What I'm Really Going To Do

Actually, I don't think I can be a good trainer if I only use positive reinforcement. There must be some room for the caviling. I think the instructor of this high-powered seminar didn't have the entire picture. You see, if I don't yell at the mechanics and warn them that they better put their goggles on, they won't listen. Sure, some fancy instructor (who has spent his or her educated life in the classroom) will tell me I should only reinforce positive behavior - but they don't know the pipefitters I work with.

Conclusion

Yes, I'll concentrate a bit more on saying "good; safe job; you were wonderful," etc., etc. But I don't think I'll stop yelling at workers when I see them violating a safety procedure. Or, let's put it this way. When I do yell at them, I'll try to do it a way that gives them "positive reinforcement towards the behavior, which is of a safer import" - whatever that means.

Or, how about this: From now on, I'll try to keep my caviling to a minimum.

TRAINING BLOOPERS

True experiences that trainers would like to forget

Trashing the Boss

I was asked to provide safety training to the supervisor staff at a commuter rail construction job site with the safety manager. I suggested to my boss that we talk about keeping the various work areas free of debris. During the training, I showed several digital snapshots taken around the various work areas to illustrate the hazards from debris accumulation on walking surfaces. I learned later that the worst areas in my photos were the ones for which the boss was personally responsible!

I feared I had shot myself in the foot. But it turned out that the boss was not only not unhappy but actually appreciative that I had brought the problem to his attention! This enabled him to fix the problem. Phew!

Over the next two years, the areas where the training was held experienced over a million injury-free man hours for a crew of 600-700 workers.

David H. Faulkner, Instructor
ANCDF Training Department

Do you have a training blooper you'd like to share? Send your stories to catherinej@bongarde.com and let me know if we can use your name/company name.

BEATING THE POST-VACATION BLUES

By Catherine Jones

Is there a cure for the summertime blues?

Although post-vacation blues is not officially recognized by the American Psychological Association, it is a condition that seems to affect many of us. Why? When we're on vacation - whether we travel or not - we escape our daily routines. We indulge ourselves and adapt a more a flexible lifestyle. Returning to the reality of work is a shock.

According to an experiment published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (August 1997), study participants returned to their pre-vacation burnout level just three weeks after returning from vacation.

Here are 5 tips that may help you postpone the stress:

1. Return to an orderly desk
   Before you leave, create a first-day-back to-do list.
2. Take an extra day off
   Tell people you're returning to work a day later than you actually are. This will give you a chance to catch up on emails, voice mails and organize the paper that accumulated during your absence.
3. Avoid Monday
   Return to work on a Tuesday. This will shorten your first week back and let you avoid the Monday blahs.
4. Recover from your vacation
   If you're going out of town for your vacation, try to have at least one day home after your trip to ease back into your routines.
5. Maximize your time off
   A survey conducted by Steelcase found that 43% of respondents still did some kind of work-related tasks while on vacation. Try to set some boundaries around the work that you'll do while away. Don't announce to your boss and co-workers that you're available at any time. And if you simply must check your email from the cottage, limit it to 30 minutes per day.

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