by Brian Darlington – first published here: Is offensive behaviour becoming acceptable? – SHEQ Management

In Social Psychology of Risk, several key fundamentals control our thoughts, both consciously and unconsciously, shaping who we are and how we function in a social environment. The first of these is the balance between physical, psychological, and cultural elements. The second is how we think with our head, heart, and gut. I have structured this article around these three latter elements.

The planning phase

About 18 months ago, my wife and I had lunch with lifelong friends in New Zealand, where we agreed to arrange a holiday on the Greek island of Crete, along with two other couples with whom I’ve also been friends for many decades. Within a couple of months, planning for the trip began and it was full steam ahead for our reunion.

During the planning phase, we all experienced various emotions. We thought with our hearts, knowing we would all be together again for the first time in probably 30 years. We were also thinking with our guts, knowing this was a great idea, and finally, we were thinking with our heads regarding arrangements, costs, and logistics. We were all in what I like to call “the dance in which humans constantly find themselves” – with an embodied mind, thinking through head, heart, and gut.

The journey begins

Two weeks into the European summer holidays, the long-awaited date finally arrived and we were in the taxi in Vienna, on the way to board our flight to Crete. At the airport security check, we followed the standard procedures, removing laptops and liquids from our bags, taking off watches and belts, and emptying pockets into the waiting containers.

Having passed through the scanner without any issues, I noticed the frustration of a couple who were asked to open their bags for an additional physical inspection by the security officer. They complained constantly, almost getting into an unnecessary confrontation with the officer because of their frustration at being delayed. I thought to myself, “poor security officer”, as he was just doing his job, following protocol and procedures. After all, he was doing this for the safety of all passengers about to board flights to destinations around the world.

My mind wandered back to the workplace and the similarities in how some people get frustrated with rules, requirements, and procedures. How often do we hear complaints in the workplace that rules are not only too complicated, but delay the work and impact start-up milestones?

At the boarding gate

As we waited for our gate to open for boarding, we observed the psychological elements – what we call Headspace – raise their head (excuse the pun). The flight was obviously delayed, as neither the crew nor the plane had arrived yet. Disappointingly, the team at the desk didn’t share any communications about the delay, and many passengers became restless and unhappy with the situation. This is no different from what we may experience in the workplace when there is a lack of or insufficient information notifying the relevant people of events, causing frustration and confusion.

Finally, after waiting for over an hour, boarding started – and this is when things really got interesting. It seemed as if people completely lost all respect for others, pushing each other to get to the boarding gate and swipe their pass. Despite the announcement that boarding would commence for priority passengers only, some individuals with non-priority boarding passes tried to board. This caused a bottleneck as they tried to move backwards and out of the way, further pushing and bumping into other passengers who were waiting to board.

In-flight observations

We were in the first row of the plane and an hour into the flight I overheard the cabin crew speaking loudly about a passenger who had requested water but could not pay for it. They refused to give him water and seemed proud of being so assertive. They also mentioned that he said he wanted water because he was not feeling well, but the cabin crew member still refused and seemed proud of her assertiveness.

I thought this was so sad. Here was a passenger who maybe was saying he was not feeling well just to get a free bottle of water, but he might have genuinely felt unwell, and water would have helped him. Sadly, the three crew members continued to talk loudly amongst themselves, ridiculing and every now and then looking at the specific passenger, assuming that he was fine and was just being difficult. This was when I took out my wallet and offered to buy the passenger a bottle of water, just in case he was not feeling well.

Once again, similar to what is common in the workplace, people label and bully others, or show no sense of care or support, often insinuating that people are dishonest. One of the key words in Social Psychology of Risk is SOCIAL. In being social, how do we show respect, dignity, and care to others without being a bully or anti-social? When being disrespectful and showing no sense of care, one tends to create the in-group–out-group feeling. This is no different from how the passenger being refused water must have felt. One thing is for sure: I will never purchase a ticket from this specific airline again, even if it means paying more for my flight.

Landing and disembarking

But the fun did not stop there … my pet peeve was still to come, and I’m sure millions of frequent flyers will understand. We landed safely in Heraklion, Crete, and taxied off the runway. While doing so, with some way still to go, passengers were already unclipping their seatbelts, even though the crew had requested that seatbelts remained fastened until the plane came to a standstill. It seemed like athletes in the starting blocks, preparing for the sprint.

The plane eventually came to a standstill and immediately passengers started standing up. I watched the drama taking place. Unsurprisingly, it was like most other flights: people were pushing each other and manoeuvring to find a spot in the aisle, even though it was already overcrowded. There was a total disrespect for fellow passengers. Passengers started making comments at each other. Once again frustration crept in and the social dynamics took a turn for the worse.

Then, surprisingly to many of us on board, one of the passengers from one of the first rows started moving towards the middle of the plane to collect his bags from the overhead storage compartment. Once he had collected them, managing to almost bump someone on the head, he decided to force his way back to the front with his two bags, bumping into almost everyone in the aisle and even those in their seats. There was absolutely no respect for his fellow passengers.

The doors opened and finally we were permitted to disembark the plane and move out of the chaos that was taking place on this flight, as is so often the case. After disembarking the plane, we stepped onto one of two buses waiting for passengers, and it was not long before the chaos of the plane returned to some degree, with passengers doing their best to squeeze into the first bus. We were so pleased to get out of the airport and continue the journey in our own car with no anti-social behaviours affecting or frustrating us. 

Summary

Considering the disgruntled passenger at the Vienna airport, who was frustrated and complaining about the security officer, we see the same in the workplace. Therefore, it is key to engage with the relevant employees when developing rules and procedures, to get buy-in and then ensure that all affected employees have a clear understanding of why it is necessary and beneficial to follow the procedures.

As mentioned, the social environment in which we as humans find ourselves impacts the way we think, behave, and react. From calmly leaving our house at the start of the journey to observing security being challenged at the security control, to the lack of communication at the boarding gate and then the chaos that developed on the plane and the bus – not forgetting the lack of care by the crew members and the disrespect of them openly and loudly talking about one of their passengers – it is amazing how the majority of people change their behaviours and move through various levels of frustration because of others with whom they interact, be it in their private or professional lives. 

In this article, we linked some of the fundamentals of Social Psychology of Risk and reflected on the continuous dance that we as humans find ourselves in – be it physical controls, psychological aspects, group dynamics, or culture – as well as our embodied mind of head, heart, and gut. Why, then, are so many companies still mainly fixated on the traditional safety style, where the majority of focus is placed on workplace controls and physical aspects – with little, if any, consideration for the Headspace and Groupspace? 

In the company where I am employed, we made the shift six years ago and there is no turning back. We have found the balance in these three aspects and have placed the person at the centre of what we do in leadership, as well as in safety and health. In doing so, we reflect care and support, as well as respect for all those employed at our operations.