A “Snitch” in Reporting, Saves Lives!

Why is the fear of being branded a “reporting snitch” leading to an increase in underreporting of incidents?

When you witness a friend/coworker deliberately breaking safety norms… You can either report him to the management or hush-up the incident by staying silent.

By reporting the individual, you are labeled as a “snitch”. By staying quiet, you allow this megalomaniac unsafe worker, with the “can’t hurt me” attitude to continue compromising the safety of himself and everyone around him.

We grow up accustomed to berating the snitch, labeling them as backstabbers or gossip-mongers. The social stigma that comes along with the tag creates fear that we go to great lengths to avoid. Even embracing a false sense of integrity, camaraderie, and trustworthiness in staying tight-lipped about dangerous behaviors.

There is always the fear of being ostracized by co-workers and management that makes us underreport. Many a time, it can be our own rationale. Questions like ‘what if the worker loses his job?’, ‘how will he feed his family?’ makes us take the so-called noble route of saving our fellow worker’s skin. But the reality is that we become the real deviants when the non-reported incident turns catastrophic – putting ourselves in line with potential lawsuits.

Studies reveal that every 7 seconds, a worker is injured on the job. By deliberately underreporting incidents, we allow these injuries to manifest in the workplace. It takes one individual to impact an organization's culture - no matter if they are labeled a snitch. By reporting every injury, accident, near-miss, or dangerous behaviors, you inadvertently save lives and limbs - bringing more visibility to recognize and tackle looming accidents.

The Remedy:

To harness a snitch-like reporting culture – where every incident is reported, organizations need to implement a system that encourages greater employee participation and commitment to their safety program. Utilizing a digitized incident management software with anonymous reporting options will make sure that you're proactively reporting incidents - quickly and easily in complete discretion.