Author Topic: Why do people dislike safety equipment?  (Read 2879 times)

So I recently got a job as a guy who delivers, installs, and mounts TVs and other devices. I often work with power tools and ladders. Me and my coworkers don't get paid hourly, we get paid a piece rate for every job completed, so we're incentivized to work as fast as we can.

However, I am protective of my soft, stuffty body. So whenever I'm working with someone and I insist on wearing my helmet on the ladder (which is company policy), or put on gloves to lift heavy things (to avoid cutting my hands, and the cushion helps my endurance with the weight), or put on ear protection when we drill (metal on metal screeching is LOUD), or even decide to put on safety glasses when we're cutting wood or drywall, my coworkers just give me annoyed looks or sighs or make comments about it. Even the one clumsy motherforgeter that keeps cutting his hands won't wear loving gloves.

I get that everyone wants to get done and get out, but goddamn if they don't give me stuff for spending a few seconds to put on some basic gear. I'd rather not get tinnitus from this stuff, but they always make it sound like only a child would worry about such things. Maybe REAL MEN just take their progressive disabilities from work LIKE A MAN and don't complain about it. Anyone else deal with this stuff?

protecting yourself is loving GAY. forget hardhats forget earmuffs forget safety goggles forget steel-toe boots forget high-visibility vests and forget seatbelts you will not catch me DEAD partaking in any of that friend stuff. OSHA keeps trying to make the workplace woke but by GOD i will resist it until my dying breath which i will proudly let out of my very straight very manly body at the ripe old age of thirty four after i get instantly crushed to death by a pallet of roof shingles that was accidentally knocked off a warehouse shelf by an unlicensed forklift operator

There's nothing wrong with being safe & taking precautions to protect yourself on the job. Now, there are certain things some people can get away with like for example ear plugs - some people dont give a forget because they are already half deaf anyways and the sound doesn't bother them. same can be said about gloves, some people just have tough/callused hand skin so it doesn't bother them to go without.

I've done quite a bit of home and commercial construction/renovation related jobs and 2 things I always prioritize are safety glasses and a breathing mask - a lot of people underestimate how important these 2 things are especially if there are a lot of particulates in the air space, which there almost always are. I've made the mistake of taking my safety glasses for granted and going without them only to end up getting something in my eye somehow that day, which is extremely annoying. never go without the safety glasses, your eyes will thank you later (by providing you the ability to see stuff)

like the ol' saying goes, better safe than sorry




some people dont give a forget because they are already half deaf anyways and the sound doesn't bother them.
"Lol that's not loud" ~ Coworker that was in the army, repeated by other coworker who apparently shoots guns without ear protection

"Lol that's not loud" ~ Coworker that was in the army, repeated by other coworker who apparently shoots guns without ear protection
lol. I guess it works both ways, some people are deaf as stuff, and some are highly sensitive to sound (or certain sounds)

when I was younger one of my first "taxable jobs" was working in a grain factory and they required you to wear ear plugs even though the machinery in the place was relatively quiet. I didn't understand it. After working there for a while I realized the true purpose of those things was to prevent all the damn grain dust from getting into your ears...

I think it always begins from just the fact that most of them are a little cumbersome. That starts with not using ear protection around sound that doesn't immediately feel uncomfortable until one's hearing diminishes, which in turn increases the tolerance for loud sounds, rinse and repeat until you're half deaf.

I've worked at a lab and I can tell you that constantly wearing PPE like gloves and goggles can just be annoying, even though forgetting either just once could lead to permanent damage.

So yeah, PPE is annoying, which leads to not using it, which leads to complacency, which can even lead to a toxic work culture.

So yeah, PPE is annoying, which leads to not using it, which leads to complacency, which can even lead to a toxic work culture.
Same experience with construction. Though I've never heard of people calling others out for wearing safety equipment more so not wearing them. And atleast in here on bigger sites you actually get a hefty fine for not wearing glasses and a helmet while working.

Also my hearing has regressed exactly like this. At start I couldn't be assed to fold my earmuffs on for short loud noises cause they are quite cumbersome and its just progressed to the point where I only wear them when drilling for long periods of time or when I'm listening to music. When I first realized that my hearing had become quite bad was when I got a construction student to come help me do something and I started to cut metal with an anglegrinder and the guy jumped and started holding his ears cause of the sound.

the guy jumped and started holding his ears cause of the sound.
That's me now. My ears are pretty sensitive (to pain, my hearing isn't any better than normal) so I hope to keep them this sensitive into my old age. No reason for me to do permanent damage to my hearing for $17/hr

i wear my hearing protection and gloves at all times when some chuckle forgets couldn't care less. idk how my coworkers don't wear ear plugs/muffs when coupling rail cars together. that sound is devastatingly loud.

not too long ago i was doing work at a warehouse installing charging stations for a robot that moves pallets around pallet shelves. these pallet shelves are probably 30 ft tall and span the size of like 4 football fields. the charging station is at the very top and we're required to 100% tie off meaning as long as we're up there our harness needs to be tied off to something at all times. we're supposed to use two harnesses and latch on one, move forward, latch on the next, go back, and latch off the other one. if you constantly have to move around this is extremely time consuming. do i do it? hell no. i would never get any work done. i just walk to the spot i wanna work to then tie off there.
this is the main problem people have with a lot of safety regulations. some of them are so damn time consuming that if you have a project that has a deadline you'll never get it done in time. as far as safety glasses and helmets and ear plugs go, yes you should wear them. that stuff is important.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2024, 05:26:58 PM by Trogtor »

not too long ago i was doing work at a warehouse installing charging stations for a robot that moves pallets around pallet shelves. these pallet shelves are probably 30 ft tall and span the size of like 4 football fields. the charging station is at the very top and we're required to 100% tie off meaning as long as we're up there our harness needs to be tied off to something at all times. we're supposed to use two harnesses and latch on one, move forward, latch on the next, go back, and latch off the other one. if you constantly have to move around this is extremely time consuming. do i do it? hell no. i would never get any work done. i just walk to the spot i wanna work to then tie off there.
this is the main problem people have with a lot of safety regulations. some of them are so damn time consuming that if you have a project that has a deadline you'll never get it done in time. as far as safety glasses and helmets and ear plugs go, yes you should wear them. that stuff is important.
this should have a rolling tie off point if it's an I-beam. that way you don't need two separate ties

this should have a rolling tie off point if it's an I-beam. that way you don't need two separate ties
too much stuff in the ceiling unfortunately. also the distance I'm walking is far longer than an I beam

Worked in agriculture, specifically a soybean conditioning plant in rural midwest, and the saying goes that "Safety is on YOU"

Sure, common sense will usually keep your hind safe, however all those safety regulations would slow down the traditional flow of what's been essentially the same process forever. The place wasn't OSHA compliant per-say, since it was in the ag business and there's just, different rules for that. Going from that, to being security for a fortune 500 manufacturing facility and seeing just how much OSHA compliance signs, labeling, walkways, safety hazard training, all of those, yet people still complain that it slows down their processes and adds unnecessary overhead

However, as someone who had their right arm momentarily pinned inside a forklifts mask, because I decided to stand on the forks and wrap my arm around the backrest of the carriage instead of using any sort of cage or platform, and the task I decided to do was easier to do without a scissor lift, I also fell into that 'well forget it lets just get 'er done' mentality. arm is okay, got compensation and checked out, nothing broke, lots of bruising and the arm muscle is still rather stiff and rough, I learned that that safety second bullstuff costs lives and there's not that many jobs out there that I want to risk my wellbeing for anymore.

Coming from someone whose been in the labor market for awhile, it's easy to overlook safety in return for speed, because time is money and the more tasks you can complete in a day generally means more money.

as far as any other safety issues out there, i was the only one at least who wore earplugs near machines, i wore safety glasses more often because i already smacked my head on a handle and nearly took my eye out (legit, it was a very close gash to the eye), all because no one really cared for safety or had the mentality that "well if you get hurt it's because you're an idiot", and that's just because of the culture of manual labor jobs around here

edit: let me add

I get that everyone wants to get done and get out, but goddamn if they don't give me stuff for spending a few seconds to put on some basic gear.

this right here is the reason that people dislike it, it not only costs time to deal with PPE, but even if it's just one person who is being compliant theyre still taking time from everyone else, and because you take a few seconds every single time a routine task is performed it adds up to the mentality that it's a waste of time.

Try and be prepared more and show that it doesn't take effort or time out of continuing the flow of the process by donning PPE, and they may seem more inclined to do it themselves, until then they will view it as a continual pause in process and that gets annoying over time.
« Last Edit: May 04, 2024, 02:59:04 PM by Dillpickle »

"Lol that's not loud" ~ Coworker that was in the army, repeated by other coworker who apparently shoots guns without ear protection

I shoot guns quite frequently, and I did work in the firearms industry for quite a while, and let me just tell you straight up that shooting guns without earpro is literally nothing to brag about. I have had some of my coworkers complain to me about how restless they are because of the constant buzzing or ringing they face. It's just they're trying to justify being tactically disadvantaged when it comes to good hearing. It's compensating.

I will say though that when it comes to safety equipment wearing hi-vis clothing at a site that's disconnected from the main road is kinda gay and idk why some of the dudes I've worked with do that.

Skipping PPE may save a few seconds but it won't save you time or money in the hospital.
I don't use earplugs or anything but I do try to take care of my eyes. Gloves tend to cause me trouble but I'll use them if needed or when I don't feel like having to wash my hands between starting and shutting off vehicles /using the diagnostic computer

Certain safety precautions should always be taken, such as lock out tag out and anything meant to support you or the thing you're working with.