The Worst Places For Safety Managers to Work

Over my 40+ years in the safety game, I’ve seen it all, working with hundreds of manufacturing companies. And if there’s one takeaway, it’s this: the worst place for a safety professional to land is a small to medium-sized private company.

Here’s the thing—public companies (those owned by stockholders and traded on the exchange) are a different breed. They’re run by sharp, well-qualified execs who get the value of safety. They know that investing in safety training, gear, and staff pays off big time with lower insurance costs, higher morale, and better productivity.

Big public companies typically have awesome safety cultures, well-funded EHS (Environment, Health, and Safety) departments, and CEOs who actually care about what’s going on with safety.

But let’s talk about smaller, privately held companies, especially those run by the founder or family. Here’s why they’re often not the best bet for a long-term safety career:

• Safety as an Expense: The owner, who’s built the company with a lean team, often sees the safety pro as just another cost.
• Ignoring the Rules: Private owners sometimes skip wearing the required PPE, just to show who’s boss.
• Short-Term Thinking: They might be reluctant to invest in long-term safety solutions like ventilation or noise reduction because the payoff isn’t immediate.
• Productivity Over Safety: At smaller private firms, cutting corners on safety procedures to boost productivity is a common practice.
• Cheap PPE: Private owners often opt for the cheaper PPE over more expensive, but more effective, engineering controls.
• Anti-Regulation Attitude: Many private owners aren’t keen on the government telling them how to run their business.
• Flouting Regulations: Some even make the call to deliberately ignore safety and health regulations.
• Turning Away Inspectors: The only companies I know of that have turned OSHA inspectors away (and made them get a search warrant—bad move) were privately owned.

Bottom line? If you’re a safety pro looking to make a real impact, aim for the biggest publicly owned company you can find. You’ll be stepping into a world where safety is taken seriously and where you can truly thrive.