Manufacturers are skilled at operating on razor-thin margins, balancing the need to innovate with shifting market demands and supply chain disruptions. With recent economic volatility, rising tariff costs and a wave of workplace deregulation, these pressures have only intensified.
In this landscape, it’s tempting to look for cost savings in every corner of the business. But health and safety can’t be one of those areas. Here’s why.
Safety Mitigates Rising Costs
The inclination to scale back on safety measures during a downturn is short-sighted because it’s based on a false premise that safety is a cost center, not a value driver. The data proves otherwise. According to the American Society of Safety Professionals, every $1 spent on safety yields $2-$6 in savings.
The direct costs of workplace incidents, such as medical expenses and equipment repair, can be substantial, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. Hidden costs, including lost productivity, production delays, lower employee engagement and a loss in earning power, are far more destructive.
In addition to those costs, an increase in injuries drives up insurance premiums and workers' compensation rates.
Healthy, safe workplaces produce more with less waste and are important to developing a focused, engaged workforce.
Amid Deregulation, Safety Builds Competitive Advantage
The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed rewriting or repealing over 60 federal workplace rules and shrinking OSHA’s regulatory authority. While proposals for workplace deregulation can reduce administrative burden and increase business flexibility, they may also compromise safety initiatives. Manufacturers face critical decisions as the national debate continues.
When prescriptive safety standards are relaxed or rescinded, the onus of ensuring a safe workplace falls even more heavily on the shoulders of individual companies. This presents a choice for manufacturers: Do you wait for a regulator to identify a problem, or do you proactively build a culture of safety that is resilient to evolving, external change?
Rather than looking at deregulation as a license to cut corners, consider it a call to action. It’s an opportunity to move from a mindset of check-the-box compliance to proactive excellence and competitive advantage by ensuring your safety program empowers employees to identify and report costly risks. This supports added agility and resilience, even in uncertain times.
Safety Supports Top Talent Recruitment and Retention
While manufacturing employment has declined overall this year, an estimated 3.8 million more manufacturing jobs are still projected to be needed by 2033, according to NAM. Nearly 2 million of those jobs are expected to go unfilled if more people aren’t inspired to pursue them. Employee recruitment is an issue, but retaining your best talent has grown more critical than ever.
In times of economic uncertainty, employee anxiety is already high. Doubling down on your commitment to health and safety in these moments builds trust, fosters loyalty and creates a more engaged, productive workforce. High-performing teams are 23% more profitable and 14% more productive than their low-performing counterparts, according to a recent Gallup study.
Healthy, safe environments are mission-critical for Gen Z and millennials. Younger generations are reshaping the workplace with a new set of expectations, driven by their desire for empathetic leadership, a sense of purpose and an environment that supports psychological safety—a belief that they can speak up, ask questions and make mistakes without fear of punishment or humiliation.
For these workers, safety extends to their mental and emotional well-being. Health and safety programs give you a chance to meet them where they are by leading with humility and empathy, demonstrating that company values align with their own.
Investment in Long-Term Resilience
Workplace health and safety is an investment in your people, productivity and long-term resilience. It’s a key element of surviving uncertainty and emerging from it more profitable than before.
