Safety by the Numbers

This is Part 2 in a series on Global Safety Culture.  To read Part 1, go here.

Last week, we talked about safety culture, how the U.S. and Europe both have rules, but only one built a system.  In the U.S., the spectrum of safety compliance is wide, uneven, culture-dependent, and business by business.

This week, I want to dig into the numbers.  

The question I have is whether culture alone explains injury differences between regions, or are we also seeing something more basic: a difference in how, and what, is being reported.

But before I bore you with workplace injury data -  

I mean, really bore you -

let’s talk about one of the greatest tournaments in all of professional sports happening right now.  Oddly enough, it may just tell us more about safety culture than we’d think.

The Stanley Cup

It’s been a great series this year and while I’m still coming to terms with professional hockey in Miami, it can’t take away from the exciting games.

Growing up in the Detroit area in the 1980’s, one would have had go out of their way to avoid being a hockey fan.  You just couldn’t help but root hard for not only the team, the Red Wings, but the Captain, Steve Yzerman.

Yzerman is the face of quiet, intense determination.  He led by example, playing through injuries, and ultimately willed the franchise to multiple championships.  

His grit turned the “Dead Things” into the enduring franchise of Hockeytown.

Famed author and sports columnist, Mitch Albom, once wrote what might be the greatest single sports column of all time. He called the “C” on Yzerman’s jersey a symbol not just of Captain, but of Courage. (If you remember Allen Iverson’s “Practice?” rant, you’ll appreciate his writing here.)

Yzerman is now in the Hall of Fame.  He’s 7^th in All-Time Points, racking up over 600 goals and 1,000 assists.  He did it with confidence.  And he did it with protection.

That protection came in the form of Bob Probert.

The Enforcer. If you messed with Stevie Y, Probert messed you up.

To say that Probert was a complex character would be an understatement.

A team leader, he wore the assistant-captain “A” on his sweater.  He was also once arrested for smuggling cocaine through the Windsor tunnel - during the season.

Earlier in his career, he was found in an Edmonton pub after curfew, the night before a conference finals elimination game against Gretzky. (I mean, who among us...)

Probert played tough.  He once earned a three-game suspension for high-sticking, which, as you can see in the video, is a nice way of saying he took the end of his stick and jammed it in an opponents face. This was one of many in a career defined by bruising clarity.

(If you want to see the most Canadian interview ever, watch this Don Cherry special with Probert).

Probert was the archetype of Canadian toughness. That wasn’t just hockey culture. That was Canadian culture: defend your space, and don’t show weakness.

And that mindset, as we’ll see, bleeds into the workplace.

Let’s Start with the Obvious: Countries Differ

Canada, Europe, and America don’t just have different safety cultures. They have different everything.

They’ve got dollars, quid, and loonies. They call coffee by different names. They run healthcare systems that would make the other side’s politicians faint.

Simply look at their safety workwear and you can see they do things differently.

So of course, workplace injury data may not line up either.

But those differences matter. Because when we use statistics to compare safety incidents, accidents, and acheivements, we need to make sure we’re not comparing apples to schnitzel.

The Boring Stuff: Same Injuries, Different Ledgers

Let’s take a snapshot across regions:

United States (OSHA / BLS):

• ~3.7 workplace fatalities per 100,000 workers

• ~2,700 nonfatal injuries per 100,000 workers

• Includes minor injuries, occupational illness, and cases without lost time

• Requires reporting even for ER visits or stitches. Mandates serious injuries be reported within 24 hours, as we discussed last week.

European Union (Eurostat / ESAW):

• ~1.7 workplace fatalities per 100,000

• ~1,506 nonfatal injuries per 100,000, but only if they result in 4+ days off work

• Much higher rates in Western Europe; suspiciously low in parts of Eastern Europe.

In 2022, rates ranged from fewer than 100 nonfatal accidents per 100,000 workers in Romania and Bulgaria to more than 2,000 per 100,000 in Spain, Portugal, France, and Denmark.

Eurostat and OSH researchers have noted this wide gap as a clear sign of underreporting.

Let’s be real for a minute: Bulgaria isn’t five times safer than Lisbon. It’s just 20 times quieter on the reporting front.

Canada:

• Underreporting of head injuries and workplace violence is a known issue

• No unified national injury database; relies on regional compensation boards

So how do we compare all of this?

Reporting isn’t universal. In fact, it’s as culturally embedded as driving stick or asking for a flat white.

The U.S. might look worse. But, it might simply be counting more.

Toughing it out in Canada

Let’s go back to Bob Probert for a second. The guy was a legend who left this earth way too soon. He spoke openly about knowing “what my job is.”

He spent more time in the penalty box than most people spend in meetings.

But he also had respect. Yzerman gave the eulogy at his funeral. Tie Domi was in attendance - a subtle nod that the real ones understood.

He was the definition of Canadian grit: take a hit, throw a bigger one, and never admit you're hurt.

That ethos of “tough it out, don’t complain” is still alive on Canadian job sites. And when it comes to head injuries, it’s become a problem.

Canada lacks a centralized injury reporting system. Hospitalization data exists, but what happens if a worker gets knocked in the head, shakes it off, and goes back to the job?

Isn’t that what tough guys are supposed to do?

Odds are, no one logs it.

Brain Injury Canada openly acknowledges this:

“Despite the prevalence of brain injury in Canada…many brain injuries are not actually reported at the time of injury (or at all)."

That’s not semantics. It’s a Niagara Falls-like drop off.

Official stats say ~21,000 Canadians hit the hospital annually for traumatic brain injury. But that’s just what’s captured.

Some estimates are that only 11.5% of those with a head injury incident sought care in a doctor's office, with a majority receiving no follow-up from health professionals.

It’s not just about missing data. It’s about stigma. In Ontario, one study found hundreds of medically documented work-related injuries never became compensation claims - especially among precarious workers or immigrants.

Meanwhile, survivors of brain trauma have reported feeling pressured to hide symptoms, fearing they’ll be seen as weak, unreliable, or replaceable.

What does this mean?

A national blind spot around head injuries, especially in blue-collar environments where the old-school mentality still rules. Be like Probert.

When stigma outweighs safety, what’s recorded isn’t what happens, it’s what is acceptable to be reported.

The Takeaway

We all know that numbers are only useful when you know what they’re measuring.  Across global safety cultures, what counts as "an incident" depends on local rules, incentives, and priorities.

It’s one thing to say Europe is safer.  It’s another to realize that, in many cases, we’re looking at completely different definitions of what counts as "an injury."

• Does the U.S. need better culture? Yes.

• Does Europe need better data consistency? Also yes.

• Does Canada need a more honest conversation about what’s not being reported? Absolutely.

So when a company proudly touts a stat like “days since our last reported incident,” we shouldn’t ask how long?

We should ask “how do they count?”

Next week, I want pivot back to the U.S., and share an example of a company that gets it right…in many ways.

Stay in touch 

If you enjoyed this piece, or have other stats on this topic that aren’t as boring, please reach out. You can contact me at [email protected] or LinkedIn. 

Stay safe out there!