Bringing Joy into Workplace Safety

Moving beyond fear-based messaging and focusing on discovery, participation and personal value can help safety leaders create more meaningful learning experiences.

• By Robert Pater
• Oct 15, 2026

Bringing Joy into Safety

“Joy” and “safety” are two words that aren’t often spoken together. Safety is more commonly paired with words such as “crucial,” “essential,” “protective,” “obligated” and “defensive.” But joy?

Leaders looking for better ways to encourage changes in beliefs and actions would be wise to consider the connection between positive emotions and learning. Neuroscience research has associated learning and change with reactions such as excitement, personal interest and discovery. Neurologist Dr. Judy Willis has written that positive emotions can affect brain chemistry by releasing dopamine, lowering stress and supporting learning and memory.

Yet in many organizations, fear of negative consequences remains an entrenched way of motivating safety. Threats, punishment and “holding people accountable” can shape not only how safety expectations are communicated but also how workers are treated after incidents.

The results can be limited over the long term. As John Milton wrote in Paradise Lost, “Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe.”

In safety, that can appear as workers following the strict letter of a procedure without embracing its purpose. An employee might perform a prescribed lockout, for example, but fail to mention an unusually sticky valve because reporting it wasn’t specifically required.

Fear can also discourage workers from reporting near misses, sharing potentially valuable information during incident investigations or volunteering for safety roles.

Safety communications also frequently rely on the promise of preventing something bad from happening. Workers are told to follow procedures so they don’t get injured or so they can “go home the same way they came in.” That message can be hard to sustain, especially when workers don’t believe an incident will happen to them or when production pressures seem to conflict with safety expectations.

There is another approach: Find ways to bring some enjoyment, discovery and personal satisfaction into safety.

For people to embrace something new and ultimately change their decisions and actions, it helps when they receive some form of positive internal validation from the experience. Former maritime company CEO and ASSP board member Anil Mathur put it another way: “Leaders have to light up the brains of the workforce!”

Creating Engagement

Bringing energy and enjoyment into safety doesn't mean making light of hazards or turning every safety meeting into entertainment. It means creating opportunities for workers to participate, discover solutions and see personal value in what they're learning.

We’ve used this approach for decades in our MoveSMART® systems, using “Aha!” and discovery moments to build receptivity and encourage workers to adopt and sustain injury-prevention strategies.

Safety leaders can apply similar principles in several ways:

• Emphasize positive personal benefits. Move beyond messages focused exclusively on avoiding injuries, discipline or other negative consequences. Help workers see how safety knowledge and skills can benefit them both at work and away from the job.


• Make room for conversation. Leave space during meetings and training for workers to raise concerns, offer ideas and ask questions.


• Welcome difficult questions. Invite workers to challenge assumptions and respond without becoming defensive. Shutting down uncomfortable questions can discourage future participation.


• Create hands-on experiences. Whenever possible, give workers opportunities to try something rather than simply hear about it. Realistic exercises can make training more relevant and memorable.


• Use problem-solving challenges. Friendly challenges between teams can encourage participation while giving workers opportunities to discover solutions themselves.


• Develop peer safety advocates. Train workers to have safety conversations with coworkers on the floor, rather than relying exclusively on managers or safety professionals to deliver the message.


• Encourage discovery. Instead of always telling workers what to think or do, create opportunities for them to reach their own conclusions. Self-discovery can help turn prescribed safety practice into something a worker personally values.


• Connect safety to life outside work. Discuss how concepts apply to activities at home, recreation and hobbies. Personal relevance can increase interest.


• Get people moving. Incorporating physical activity and demonstrations into training can generate more energy than asking employees to sit through a session.

Beyond Injury Prevention

Safety can go beyond preventing injuries. It can help people become more effective in their activities, more aware of their surroundings and more confident in making decisions.

That requires more than rules, procedures and reminders about what could go wrong. Safety leaders can also consider what makes workers curious, engaged and willing to participate.

Joy may initially sound like an unusual word to associate with occupational safety. But when workers experience discovery, involvement and personal value rather than simply being told what they must do, learning can become more meaningful.

The goal isn't to make safety entertaining. It's to create an environment in which workers want to participate in keeping themselves and one another safe.

This article originally appeared in the October 2026 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.