Workers’ compensation safety programs are moving beyond compliance and individual blame as employers focus more closely on the workplace systems that allow mistakes to become injuries.
Human and organizational performance practices examine how leadership, training, work design and post-incident responses shape outcomes, with the focus increasingly on improving the system, rather than simply identifying who caused an incident, according to Nationwide senior consultant for workers' compensation, Phillip Maddox (pictured).
“What we’re seeing in safety broadly is more leaning into human and organizational performance,” Maddox said. “There’s a strong emphasis in that arena on stepping away from the concept of blame and who’s responsible, and taking more of a broader, higher-level approach: How do we improve the system so that we get the results we want? It’s more about system performance.”
The shift comes even as the latest US data show fewer workplace incidents. Private-sector employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2024, down 3.1% from 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total recordable case rate fell to 2.3 per 100 full-time equivalent workers, the lowest level in the series dating to 2003. Still, 1.8 million cases involved days away from work across 2023 and 2024, with a median absence of eight days.
NCCI’s 2026 State of the Line put the private carrier calendar-year combined ratio at 91% for 2025 and said lost-time claim frequency declined 2%. Yet strong underwriting results do not eliminate the weaknesses that can produce injuries or allow small events to become costly claims.
“When you talk about sustainable safety performance, what we look at now is a strong safety culture with visible leadership commitment, active employee engagement, and a systematic approach to identifying and solving hazards before and after an incident occurs,” Maddox said. “That’s radically different from back when workers’ comp first formed. It was more of a compliance-type mindset.”
Employers are also dealing with recruitment pressure, geopolitical uncertainty and an aging workforce. Maddox said Nationwide’s data, consistent with other carriers and rating bureaus, show approximately 40% of worker injuries occur during an employee’s first year. Selection, orientation and training therefore affect retention as well as loss prevention.
That broader view gives brokers a way to differentiate themselves beyond insurance pricing. Risk discussions can expose gaps in onboarding, training and incident response, connect clients with carrier resources and create an agenda for the policy term. “Today’s employers aren’t looking just for cheaper insurance,” Maddox said. “They’re really looking to all of the partners they engage with, whether that’s in the insurance world or other areas, to help them get practical guidance.”
Maddox added tat employers often have ample compliance material but need help setting priorities, assigning ownership and measuring progress. Timing matters, though: he urged agents to raise risk-management issues before renewal, when the discussion can otherwise appear tied to the sale. “It’s never a bad time to have a good conversation, but there are better times to engage your insured,” he said.
AI, computer vision, Internet of Things devices and wearables could deepen that work. Brokers and carriers can help clients decide whether a technology addresses an actual exposure, vet vendors and translate data into changes in training and post-event response.
At the same time, the stakes remain significant for organizations: the BLS recorded 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024, down 4% year over year, equivalent to one worker death every 104 minutes. Amidst that backdrop, sustained improvement depends on redesigning the conditions surrounding work, rather than treating employee error as the end of the investigation.
But data alone does not create a safer organization. “Without those core elements we talked about that create that resilient culture, that information can become useful, or it can just become noise,” Maddox said.
