“Complaints are prayers to the wrong god.” — Anne Lamott
We live in a culture that actively discourages reporting problems. We’re told “Complain less, appreciate more,” “No one likes to listen to complaints,” and “Never complain and never explain.” And extreme cases, we’re reminded that “Snitches get stitches.”
Yet there are dozens of requirements to record and report problems. OSHA requires reportable injuries be documented within seven days and requires that hospitalizations be reported within 24 hours. Work-related fatalities must be reported within 8 hours. The EPA requires that releases greater than the mandated reportable quantity be reported immediately.
(Note: There is no definition of “immediately” in the EPA laws or regulations, but the EPA is quick to point out that “ordinarily, delays in making the required notifications should not exceed 15 minutes after the person in charge has knowledge of the release. Immediate notification requires shorter delays whenever practicable.”)
If people do not let us know about problems—in the words of some, complain—we don’t know about them. Even when there is no statutory or regulatory obligation to report problems to OSHA or the EPA or other government agencies, we cannot fix problems we don’t know about.
So, why don’t personnel report problems?
Why Personnel Do Not Report Incidents
There are a lot of reasons personnel do not report incidents or near misses, some innocent and well-meaning, others, not so much.
Ignorance
In some instances, an incident occurs and personnel do not recognize it as an incident. Or at least, not as an incident that needs to be reported.
Acceptance
Acceptance is the expectation that certain things just happen and that the organization will not do anything about them. It is a learned response to the culture of the organization.
Underestimation
Not every incident is reported, even in the most diligent organizations. Some incidents are so minor or trivial that they do not deserve attention. This determination of triviality is a judgment. Whenever judgment is required, there will be occasions when judgments do not all align. Sometimes, personnel do not report incidents that should be reported because they have judged them to be too minor or trivial to warrant attention.
Overconfidence
Reporting an incident has its own costs. Paperwork must be completed, taking time away from regular duties, which don’t go away just because there has been an incident. More time must be taken to explain what is in the paperwork to skeptics. Some employees will look at an incident and conclude that it would be easier for everyone involved to simply take care of it themselves and avoid all the hassle.
Deference
Some personnel will not report an incident because they believe, or have been trained, that it is not their job to report incidents. They believe that someone else has that responsibility. Or in some instances, they don’t report, not because they don’t believe it is their responsibility, but because they believe someone else already has, or will.
Embarrassment
Some personnel do not report incidents because they are embarrassed by their role in the incident. They leave the incident unreported, fully expecting that someone else will discover the incident and report it, thus remaining anonymous.
Distrust
Some personnel do report incidents because they do not trust that they will be taken seriously. Their expectation is that they will be dismissed and told, “stay in your lane.” Or they do not trust that anything will be done about it, either because of incompetence, or because of understaffing and under resourcing.
Fear
The most common reason that personnel don’t report incidents is fear. Fear that they will be blamed for causing the incident. Fear of retaliation by the organization for “creating” a problem that makes someone look bad. And even in a workplace setting, fear of reprisal by the person who the organization eventually holds responsible.
They’re Not Complaints
Whether we appreciate the reasons for not reporting or delaying reporting of incidents, they are real. If these obstacles to reporting are left unaddressed, we are at risk of failing to meet our statutory and regulatory obligations. Perhaps worse, we lose out on the opportunity to understand how to make our organizations safer. The responsibility for addressing these obstacles are not on individuals who don’t report.
Some of the obstacles to reporting are organizational. Some are personal. Evaluate your own organization’s reporting mechanisms and performance. Have you inadvertently created or amplified these obstacles? If there are things you need to change within yourself, do it. If the obstacles are within your organization, find an ally in the higher echelons and enlist their aid in making the changes.
Regardless, address the obstacles to reporting problems. They’re not complaints, they are opportunities to make the world a safer place.
