Reposted from @SafetyOfficer: I heard you’ve** gotten used to being ignored?

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The last edit to this post was made by Think for half a year on 2016-10-28 at 15:18. It goes like this: Once, you too were a young person full of ideals and ambitions; you were full of enthusiasm and drive, always ready to give your best effort to ensure the safety management of enterprises, and to contribute your youth and energy to the development of the country’s security sector. However, before you even had a chance to establish yourself in the workplace, reality dealt you a series of merciless blows. You originally thought it was only natural for companies to adhere to the principle of \"safety first,\" but you found that the boss paid no attention at all to safety; anything that required financial investment or effort from him would end up unresolved, with no follow-up at all. You originally thought that safety management was of utmost importance in a company, only to find that you were the only full-time safety officer there. Although you had direct supervisors and colleagues in your department, their work often had little to do with safety management. You were like a temporary employee, with no one to offer advice or work alongside you in times of trouble; often, you had to face challenges alone. Even though you were doing what was right for the company and its employees, you still faced criticism everywhere. Any efforts to identify and address safety issues were seen as attempts to create problems, organizing safety-related activities was criticized as being unnecessary, and even effective safety management practices were regarded as attempts to make things more complicated... Feeling utterly exhausted and disheartened, you decided to turn a blind eye and gradually became someone who only prepared documents to meet inspection requirements, acting as a mere messenger between the regulatory authorities and the company. You go to the workshop site less and less often; when you do stop by, it’s just in a hurry, as you no longer want to worry too much about safety. You quietly use your passivity to create for yourself a so-called comfort zone, and increasingly get used to everyone’s neglect of you, as well as the neglect of safety management tasks, day after day... But is it really right to muddle along in this way, blaming your hardships on harsh reality while ignoring the problems within yourself? In my opinion, that’s completely wrong! Because as a safety officer, if you can’t even establish your own position properly, how can you expect to gain the respect and support of others? So the question arises: what exactly should be the role of a safety officer? In my view, in addition to being responsible for the safety management tasks assigned to them, enterprise safety officers also play a role that connects different levels within the organization. Since most of a company’s security efforts require coordination among various departments, as a security officer, one must report important security issues to higher authorities and provide professional recommendations; at the same time, it is necessary to guide and supervise the implementation of various security measures. It is no exaggeration to say that when safety officers fulfill their role as connectors effectively, safety efforts can achieve twice the results with half the effort! So the question arises: how should we define our own role? The first step is to adopt the right mindset – to accept the current state of safety management in the company from the bottom of our hearts and to work actively to make changes. As a safety manager, one should be prepared for the low level of safety management in ordinary enterprises. If a company has established a security management department and hired security professionals, it at least indicates that the company is aware of its issues in terms of security management and is willing to invest manpower and resources to improve the situation. As a safety manager, upon joining an enterprise, the first thing to do is to strive to truly integrate into the company, and then use one’s professional skills to fulfill the responsibilities related to safety. Step 2: Identify the correct approach to work. Apply the appropriate working methods based on the characteristics of the company’s safety management efforts. Different companies, with varying cultural backgrounds and management styles, have different approaches and characteristics in their safety management efforts. Whether these are good or bad, mainstream or alternative, the first thing we need to do is learn to adapt to them, rather than resisting management styles that are not suitable for us. Let me explain. In the company I work for, there is only me as the full-time safety manager; in the company’s organizational structure chart, my role is listed under the Human Resources department. On the first day of work, the supervisor told me that if there were any important safety matters, I could report directly to the boss. At first, I mistook it for the company’s emphasis on safety management, but soon I realized that it was simply the HR manager who found safety work to be tedious and unprofitable, and wanted to get rid of the safety officers from the HR department. If this had happened right after I graduated, with a supervisor who wasn’t willing to get involved or offer support, I would either have driven myself to the brink of despair or simply quit my job and find another one. But now, I think I can turn bad things into good ones. After starting work, whenever there were security-related matters that required decision-making support from my supervisor, I would proactively report them to him. As soon as he said, \"You’d better report this to the boss,\" I would immediately prepare a detailed report outlining the whole situation, along with professional suggestions and solutions for the boss’s consideration. To be honest, the results are pretty good; the boss’s feedback every time is positive. Although I’m still dealing with the tricky security issues within the company, at least my boss has seen my efforts and professionalism, and he has given me his support! Step 3: Never stop learning. Given the comprehensive and technical nature of safety management, it is only by continuously improving one’s management skills and expanding one’s professional knowledge that it is possible to become an expert in this field. At a large company where I used to work, the HR department conducted a ranking of turnover rates for various positions. Excluding front-line employees, safety officers had the highest turnover rate in the company – almost everyone in this role changed jobs every two years, and I was one of them. In my current workplace, three safety officers have left in the past two years; I am the fourth. In fact, the main reasons why people change jobs frequently are unsatisfactory compensation and difficulties in maintaining job security; in my opinion, the latter accounts for a much higher proportion than unsatisfactory compensation. I can relate to this. But I would like to remind everyone that we must pay attention to setting stop losses! As is well known, frequent job changes are highly detrimental to one’s professional development; if you want to become an excellent corporate security manager, it is essential to keep learning and accumulating experience. In fact, every position and every organization faces difficulties and challenges; you can’t avoid them by running away – one day you will have to confront them; that’s life. Step 4: Learn *what is most useful. 1. Practical safety management techniques. In my opinion, the routine safety management tasks in different companies are largely similar to each other. Working in a large enterprise allows you to gain a comprehensive and systematic understanding of corporate security management, as well as a clear insight into the various routine tasks and approaches involved in such management. Working in a small business allows you to communicate directly with the owner or senior management regarding safety issues internally, while externally you need to deal directly with regulatory authorities, which helps to develop your ability to handle safety matters effectively. It’s better to figure out the rules and strategies first before putting in effort, rather than just acting blindly from the start – that will yield better results! 2. Practical safety expertise: Knowledge related to electrical equipment, special equipment, specific types of work, hazard identification, and occupational health is something that requires continuous learning and accumulation in any enterprise. Different companies may have different focuses and strengths in these areas, all of which are worth learning and mastering. In summary, the task of ensuring safety is arduous; cultivating one’s character cannot be given up so easily! As a passionate and ambitious security professional, even if you mistreat me over and over again, I will still treat you as if it were our first encounter. Don’t you think so?