5 Common Yet Unacceptable Excuses For Not Wearing PPE and Their Consequences

If you are a supervisor or compliance officer, one of the tasks you need to do is instilling ppe at work regulations. No excuses and exemptions. But in reality, many in the workforce seem to grab the opportunity of not following this.

Learn more about these common excuses and consequences for not wearing ppe at work and how you can change that through this funny, relatable and helpful overview and guide.

5 Common Yet Unacceptable Excuses For Not Wearing PPE

There are some employees you see in the workplace that seem fine without their PPEs and have excuses ready when called out. Here are some common yet unacceptable reasons for not wearing ppe that you can relate to:

1. “I do not need it because I know what I’m doing.”

This is probably one of the funniest and common line you can hear from your fellow employee. This is simply ironic as every employee knows the importance of wearing ppe at work and yet you see them not wearing one.

The logic here is that, if you know what you are doing as you claim it to be, then this shouldn’t even be used as an excuse for you not to wear your ppe whenever you are doing your assigned work or tasks to begin with.

2. “Whoops, I forgot mine.”

Seriously though. This may be a very careless and a not well thought of excuse you can give or hear for not wearing ppe at work. Everybody knows that most employers keep it in storage and to not be brought home by their workers.

If you are one of those workers who use this as an excuse, expect your supervisor or compliance officer to find it quite funny and still consider it as a clear reason for you to be reprimanded for ppe non compliance.

3. “I am uncomfortable wearing it and it limits my movements.”

Although this may seem that it can be given pardon as it sends a message that you want to be as productive as possible while accomplishing your work, it is not really an excuse to say that your ppe is holding you back.

Remember, your ppe is issued to you or given as a form of extra protection and layer of safety. It is intended for ensuring that you lessen the possibility of being exposed to incidents, accidents, risks and hazards while working.

4. “Wait, we need to wear one? I didn’t know.”

Now this is just either mocking or not taking the workplace safety guidelines seriously. You have to avoid this excuse if you do not want to be perceived as something negative by your supervisor and have it lead to something else.

Organizations that you work in will ensure that the proper reminder, training and practice is accessible to all who work for them and is heavily reliant in ppe use due to their nature of work. Pretending you don’t know is a definite red flag.

5. “I think I’m fine without it. Whatever happens, happens. If it’s your time, then you have to accept it.”

This excuse may seem to deserve an applause or props for making it a very artistic and dramatic approach to give an excuse when you get caught not wearing ppe at work but it’s not worth the hype at all.

Having to just accept your fate while working on your tasks by omitting your chance of avoiding serious injuries or even fatality, is something to be tagged as a serious cause for concern. (Suicidal tendencies are not cool.)

Consequences For Not Wearing PPE

Here’s what lies ahead if you fail to comply in ensuring proper use of ppe and when you totally omit using your ppe whenever you are working:

· Death/Fatality due to illness or accidents

· Incurring of fines and penalties for non-compliance

· Decline in achieving safety standards and regulatory goals set

· Poor work productivity

· Sub-par work ethic by employees and of their superiors

· Loss of revenue due to allocation of budget for compensation brought about by PPE non-compliance

How To Handle Non-Compliance For PPE Wearing At Work

· Set A Workplace Recognition and Reward Scheme – This gives your employees or yourself something to look forward to and keeps them inspired to the importance of wearing ppe at work.

· Properly Train, Educate and Inform – invest in refresher courses, osha ppe regulations seminar and more.

· Give strict sanctions for non-compliance - assert authority when some are just not following regulations and standards.

Some Final Words

It’s nice to have a good laugh when it comes to checking out the common excuses being used by individuals who are not a fan of wearing their ppe to work especially when it is needed.

But it is never funny when this results to accidents and incidents which poorly affects both the employee and organization. Ensure safety standards and regulations regarding the effects of not wearing ppe always.

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References

https://blog.safetyglassesusa.com/overcoming-excuses-for-not-wearing-ppe/#:~:text=Top%20Excuses%20For%20Not%20Wearing,.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%9CI%20forgot.%E2%80%9D https://www.jjkellersafety.com/news-articles/survey-finds-reasons-employees-dont-wear-ppe https://www.hseblog.com/workers-dont-wear-personal-protective-equipment-ppe/ https://www.workcompprofessionals.com/advisory/archive-0000/L5eBull2010/May/2010_05_a4.html https://intentsmag.com/2017/08/01/ppe-and-bad-excuses/ https://www.safetynewsalert.com/fighting-the-ppe-battle-why-wont-workers-use-it/ https://www.jubappe.com/node/9177 https://www.pexels.com/photo/maintenance-guy-in-orange-hard-hat-8853540/

5 Common Yet Unacceptable Excuses For Not Wearing PPE and Their Consequences