Safety Matters

Safety is learned at a mother’s knee: in a hand squeeze before looking both ways and crossing the street, in a no-arguments-allowed order to walk with scissors pointing down, or in a reminder from the front seat to buckle a seatbelt.

Whether as an exasperated command or patient reminder, many of us can detect a mother’s tone in our own inner voice of safety. It’s the voice that tells us if we’re carrying too much at once, to sit up straight at our workstations, or to retie a shoelace now rather than later.
That’s why this Mother’s Day, we want to take a moment to recognize the women who were vocal about our safety from the beginning. Because it’s important to be vocal about their safety, too.

In 2018, women sustained 46 per cent of all time-loss injuries, an increase of seven per cent since 2008. In the same time, the age of injured workers over 60 has more than doubled, climbing from five to 11 per cent.

Too many workers, and too many mothers, are hurt on the job every year. And these injuries, despite happening in the workplace, hurt the most at home.

Water Fight
In Water Fight, a healthcare worker sustains a back injury while helping a patient on the job. Learn more.

Recital
In Recital, a mother sustains occupational noise-induced hearing loss and can no longer clearly hear her daughter practicing the piano. Learn more.

Dinner
In Dinner, we see a mother struggle to break her habit of setting four places at the table after her husband dies from a fall on the job. Learn more. 

Workplaces become safer when we look out for one another. That’s a key part of a mother’s logic, and also a central tenet of the Internal Responsibility System (IRS). 

So, the next time you hear an inner voice telling you to slow down and be careful, don’t keep mum. Pass along the message, and be as vocal about your safety as a mother would.