Prevention at work has nothing to lose by telling it differently. It’s just a matter of reviewing the form without touching on the substance.
The human brain doesn’t like to be confronted with its vulnerability, especially between two cat videos and a message from a friend. However, it is precisely because the subject is “touchy” that I ended up convincing myself of one thing: if the workplace safety sector really wants to be heard, it must learn to make people smile a little more.
The Paradox of Fear Marketing
Prevention marketing is unique in its kind: its only natural emotional lever is fear: fear of accidents, fear of falling, fear of dying alone without anyone knowing. It’s a powerful lever, but it’s also a lever that people instinctively run away from. On social media, no one willingly pauses on content that reminds them of their own mortality. We scroll, we close, we move on. Result: the risks linked to professional activity remain in the “taboo” category.
I spent a lot of time observing the marketing practices of security players (mainly in the market for the protection of lone workers, a subject with which I am familiar): the sector suffers from a lack of visibility and is not attractive on paper.
An approach to reinvent
In the field, several actors who have tested a deliberately lighter approach report a commitment significantly higher than average. Nothing extraordinary in itself, but it confirms something that we have suspected for a long time: the public is not waiting for an even more serious speech, they are waiting for someone to talk to them differently about a subject which, by nature, does not appeal.
These are not isolated cases: in workplace prevention in the broad sense, several campaigns have already proven that we can talk about serious subjects without feeling guilty or scaring people away. The basic message has never changed one iota, we have only modified the front door.
Serious about the substance, the form must reinvent itself
There is an essential nuance to be made here: making people smile about a sensitive subject does not mean minimizing it. The rigor remains complete on the substance: the legal obligations, the reliability of the equipment, the speed of the alert chain do not suffer from any levity. It is the form, and only the form, which can and must be allowed to leave the institutional register.
It’s daily work to make the subject more accessible. A person who smiles while watching a video on social networks still retains the message, on the contrary. I am convinced that there is a real need to renew the way we approach the issue of security overall, but this can only be done over time.
The day when prevention at work can be told as easily as a skincare brand or a meditation app, it will finally reach the people it is supposed to protect, and not just those who sign the order forms.
Safety professionals should take this shift gradually, it is, I believe, the best way to save lives.
