Breaking the Silence - Part 3: The Risks of Complacency

Part 3 of A 7-part series on How Questioning Assumptions Enhances Workplace Safety. In Part 1, we discussed how assumptions creep into the workplace.

Complacency is like a slow leak in a tire—you may not notice it at first, but it’s quietly undermining your safety, inch by inch. It creeps in when things start to feel too familiar, when the routine becomes comfortable, and when we assume that everything will go according to plan because, well, it always has. But in high-risk environments like ours, complacency is not just a minor oversight—it’s a ticking time bomb. 

I know firsthand the cost of complacency. It nearly cost me my life.

The Hidden Dangers of "Auto-Pilot"

In any job, especially in physically demanding fields like powerline construction, it’s easy to fall into autopilot mode. We show up, do our work, and follow the steps we’ve done a thousand times before. And sure, those routines are built on experience, but they also come with blind spots.

The problem with autopilot is that it can dull our awareness of the present moment. It creates a false sense of security. You start to assume that because nothing bad happened the last hundred times, nothing bad will happen this time either. But that’s where complacency strikes—it lulls you into believing you’ve got everything under control, even when the environment or conditions might be changing around you.

The reality is that our work is inherently dangerous, and each time we step onto a job site, we face a unique set of risks. What happens when a new variable sneaks in? Maybe it’s a change in the weather, an unfamiliar piece of equipment, or a new teammate who’s less experienced than you assume. When we stop paying attention to those variables, we’re at risk of catastrophic consequences.

How Complacency Nearly Took My Life

I’m not sharing this from a pedestal. I’ve lived it. My near-fatal accident wasn’t caused by some dramatic, out-of-the-blue event. It happened because I got complacent. After years in the field, I had built up my own mental shortcuts. I had done the same tasks so many times that I stopped thinking critically about every step, every decision. And then one day, I assumed everything was safe—until I found myself fighting for my life.

That wake-up call changed everything for me. It wasn’t just a lesson about personal responsibility; it was about the ripple effect complacency can have on your team, your family, and your future. I realized that complacency didn’t just impact me—it put everyone I worked with at risk.

The Ripple Effect of Complacency

What we often fail to recognize is that complacency doesn’t just live in the mind of one worker—it spreads like wildfire. It infects teams, processes, and cultures. When one person lets their guard down, others start to follow. Suddenly, shortcuts become normalized, near-misses go unreported, and small risks compound into something much bigger.

One heartbreaking example of this is the case of Marty Dale Whitmire, whose tragic death was highlighted in a blog post by Jordan Barab titled “Complacency Killed My Brother!” Whitmire was electrocuted while working on a paving operation in South Carolina in 2017. A live power line fell on him—a preventable incident that was later labeled a “freak accident,” even though numerous safety failures occurred that day.

Marty’s nephew, Melvin Whitmire, shared a powerful statement explaining how his uncle’s death wasn’t an accident, but the result of complacency and a failure to provide proper safety measures. Melvin’s words stand as a painful reminder of how easily complacency can sneak in and how catastrophic the consequences can be when safety standards are ignored. You can read the full story here.

Think about the last time you witnessed a small, preventable mistake on the job. Maybe someone skipped a step in the safety procedure because they’ve "done it a million times" without incident. Or maybe an experienced crew member didn’t feel the need to double-check a clearance because "the system always works." Those little moments of complacency build up, and before you know it, you’re staring down the barrel of a major incident.

Fighting Complacency: A Team Effort

Complacency is sneaky because it disguises itself as confidence. But the antidote is vigilance—both individually and as a team. Here’s the hard truth: no one is immune to complacency. That’s why fighting it requires a team effort.

Here are a few strategies I’ve learned that help combat complacency:

1. Rely on Each Other for Accountability: Encourage open communication and create an environment where it’s safe to speak up. If someone notices a colleague cutting corners or getting too comfortable, they should feel empowered to call it out. Not in a way that criticizes, but in a way that reminds us all that safety is our shared responsibility.

2. Change Up Your Routine: Complacency thrives in predictability. Rotate tasks, introduce new safety drills, and change up routines when possible to keep everyone on their toes. Novelty forces our brains to stay sharp and engaged.

3. Regularly Reassess Risks: Safety assessments aren’t a "set it and forget it" task. Continuously evaluate potential hazards on the job site, especially when conditions change. Don’t just assume today’s risks are the same as yesterday’s.

4. Encourage a Culture of Continuous Improvement: Never stop learning. Encourage your team to seek out new safety techniques, review lessons learned from incidents, and always look for ways to improve existing processes. When people know that safety is a dynamic, evolving practice, they’re less likely to fall into the complacency trap.

The Choice Is Yours

Complacency is a choice. It’s not something that happens to us; it’s something we allow. The good news is that just as we can choose to let it in, we can choose to push it out. It starts with awareness, both of ourselves and our surroundings. And it continues with a commitment to never get too comfortable, no matter how familiar the task at hand may seem.

So, the next time you catch yourself thinking, "I’ve got this—it’s just routine," take a step back. Challenge that assumption. Look around, reassess the situation, and remind yourself why staying vigilant is non-negotiable.

Because the cost of complacency? It’s far too high.

Stay tuned for Part 4 of this series, where we’ll dive into the role of leadership in preventing complacency and fostering a proactive safety culture. Remember, safety isn’t just a checklist—it’s a mindset, and it starts with you.

For more strategies on building a proactive safety culture, check out our safety consulting services.