I’d like your answer to this question. We are a team of 6 people who have been impacted by workplace injury or fatality. So we know how it has changed our lives & the lives of our families. But I still have a reason for staying safe. So I’d like to share our teams reasons for doing what we do & why we are probably more aware of the CHOICES we make. Feel free to share your reasons.
James Wood
I do what I do because I know what I have been through & the ongoing ways that my accident changed my life. If I can stop even one person from getting hurt I’d be happy with that! I’m more aware of the choices I make because I have a wife & 3 amazing kids & I can’t imagine life not being able to be a part of their lives!
Greg Smith
Life is full of clichés but I think two that have stuck with me are “You only get one shot at life” or “Your current life is not a rehearsal for the next one”. The decision for me to drive my car whilst under the severe effects of fatigue resulted in an accident that changed the path and direction of my life and those around me forever. The reason I do what I do in speaking to others about being safe is so that I can hopefully prevent someone else from being severely injured or worse, so that they can live these two clichés out to their fullest potential. I was only 19 at the time and have spent the past 39 years suffering the consequences of my decision and it’s not one that I want anyone else to have to experience.
Alan Newey
17 years ago I was involved in a workplace accident, after seeing what my beautiful wife went through nursing me back to health, abandoning her career along with the affect on family, friends, work colleagues.
I felt I let a lot of people down that day as well as myself. I get up every day wanting to make a difference to at least one person and hope others learn from my experience so other people’s families, friends, work colleagues and themselves don’t suffer like to many other. A good day is making the difference to (1) person, a great day is when everyone goes home to the families the same way they arrived at work.
Michelle Rath
When I lost my youngest son, I knew I had to talk about what happened to him. Sharing his story creates awareness. I never know if I have helped save lives but I am okay with that because it creates conversation which in turn means I am being heard even if it’s only for that brief time where I have spoken to workers. My life has changed dramatically and it’s not easy to keep going each day but I do it because my son matters and it’s important that the long term consequences are also understood! Don’t just live for the moment.
Rohan Sykes
In some ways I find that every time I present I feel empowered knowing that the more people’s attitudes towards safety I can bring up to where it should be, I could be saving a life, or a marriage, prevent ongoing counselling and grieving of those affected by these needless tragedies in the workplace, in the home, in all walks of life.
I aim to connect with everybody in the businesses I present to (not just those on the shop floor!), to create the right safety habits for long enough in them so they become ingrained in their psyche to hopefully bring a reduction in these incidents or fatalities because with the right attitude and safety mindset, all these I believe are 100% preventable.
We do what we do now because we care, and are only too aware of the pain and suffering our loved ones and ourselves go through from the CHOICES people make.
Anton Guinea
For me, there are about 200 people killed in Aussie workplaces each year, and countless others injured. These numbers aren’t coming down. When I hear about these things happening, I think about two things … 1 is the preventability factor. Just read through the reports, and most of the incidents appeared to be a case of all the holes lining up. 2 is the fact that someone has to make a phone call or a visit to a family that has had a loved one hurt or killed at work. There are people everywhere grieving for their family members. There would be so many Aussie families in pain each and every day, due to work place incidents. As an incident survivor, I feel obliged to make a difference. That is my reason!
