Chip
Petrea
University of Illinois Extension
Many
times within discussions following an injury incident one
hears "He just hurried too much" or "She was in a hurry and
got careless." In both of these statements, a single cause,
being in a hurry, is identified. The implication is that if
that single cause were eliminated, the "accident" would not
have happened. Unfortunately, as is the case with many things
in life, the situation is generally more complicated. When
actual incident scenarios are reviewed, it invariably comes
to light that several factors played a role in "causing" the
accident. Being in a hurry or feeling rushed may be a major
contributor by compounding the effect of other factors involved.
Certainly
the fact that the individual was in a hurry or feeling rushed
played a part. We all have our own experiences with haste.
Items are forgotten, gates are not locked, and water is left
on, among many other nuisance results. In injury incidents,
the effect of hurrying or rushing may be much more profound.
Two important factors that play a role in many injury incidents
are risk perception and decision-making. The stress brought
on by being in a hurry can affect both of these factors.
Risk
perception can be thought of as a person's judgment on the
probability of injury occurring from a particular act or behavior.
Many people judge jumping off a bridge while tied to a large
rubber band to be very risky. They believe that the probability
of getting hurt is very high. This thought is consistent with
what has been learned of people's perception of risk. Individuals
usually assign higher risks to unfamiliar activities. The
reverse is also true. Individuals assign lower risks to familiar
activities. In addition, people are generally not very accurate
judges of risk anyway, overestimating some situations and
underestimating others. These tendencies are not in the farmer's
favor. A farmer who uses a piece of equipment for a length
of time is prone to thinking that the situation is less dangerous
now than it was when he first started using it. While the
farmer has more experience with the equipment, that experience
does nothing to lessen the intrinsic danger of the machine.
In addition, the machine may not be very well maintained,
which would actually make the machine more dangerous to use.
Thus, the farmer's perception of risk is lower, while the
actual situation is more dangerous. When lack of time to get
the job done puts stress on the farmer, this inaccurate perception
of the risk involved can have serious consequences.
Decision-making
can refer to the strategies and processes that individuals
use to arrive at the decisions they make. While these strategies
and processes can vary greatly, the impact of stressful situations
on these strategies is fairly constant. In a stressful situation,
individuals
tend to reach a decision before all available alternatives
have been considered. Those alternatives that are considered
are scanned in a nonsystematic, disorganized fashion. Finally,
not enough time is given to the pros and cons of each alternative
that is considered. The farmer using the piece of equipment
referred to above experiences unexpected difficulties. The
field is nearly finished, and it is about to rain. The farmer
decides to finish the field with the equipment not operating
properly. When the farmer is asked later about the incident,
he admits the alternatives of quitting altogether or going
to get someone to help were not thought about or considered.
When questioned further, the farmer admits that little thought
was given to anything except finishing the job, and he was
in a hurry to do so.
In the
above examples, the farmer may or may not have suffered any
long-term consequences. However, many very similar situations
result in temporary or permanent disability. The farmer's
inaccurate perception of risk about a particular situation
can lead to behaviors that are much more dangerous than originally
considered. "Being in a hurry" can intensify the result of
that behavior. The farmer's usual decision-making process
can be disrupted by "being in a hurry" and lead to overlooking
alternatives that are much less risky than the alternative
chosen. Many of these overlooked alternatives indeed may not
"get the job done" at that immediate time. The delay brought
about by using one of these alternatives may, however, be
much shorter than the delay brought about by injury.
Many
will say that risk is a part of life, particularly the life
of a farmer, and that times of making haste are inevitable.
Both statements are true. It is necessary, however, to have
some understanding of how risk perception and decision-making
under stress can influence our thoughts and our behaviors.
Knowing that many farm situations are actually more dangerous
than we perceive them because we are familiar with those situations
is useful. This knowledge allows us to rethink what we may
do if something unexpected happens. If the farmer reminds
himself periodically that situations are usually more dangerous
than perceived, then that thought is more likely to be available
when the stressful situation occurs. This thought can impact
the alternatives considered.
Likewise,
knowing that stressful situations disrupt the usual thought
processes and the manner that the disruption occurs allows
planning in advance. Most farmers have plans for what is to
be done in case of bad weather or the order in which fields
must be attended. Having a similar scheme on what to do when
machinery malfunctions or the unexpected arises is not very
different. The tendencies of older machinery or the unknowns
of new machinery can be thought about ahead of time. A commitment
can be made to always shut off the machine before making repairs
or adjustments, to always notify someone when difficulties
arise, and/or to always take five minutes before doing anything.
Having a list of "safe" alternatives available to review can
go a long way in counteracting the effects of stressful situations
on the decisions we make.
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
An old
adage is "You don't have to expect trouble to be ready for it."
Applying this information about risk perception and decision-making
under stress can assist farmers in preparing for the next time
they need "to hurry."
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