Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long stressed the importance of managers in the workplace being hands on with their employees. He has previously insisted that all employees work in the same environment, eat lunch at the same tables and even park in the same parking spaces, irrespective of management pecking order.
Musk’s latest email to all Tesla employees takes things a step further, as he states that he aims to tackle growing numbers of injuries in the workplace by personally evaluating their dangers. Musk proposes that all injuries must be reported directly to him in order for him to personally assess how said injury can be prevented.
Musk has also specified that he will personally carry out the job of an injured employee to assess the dangers of their role first-hand.
In his email to all Tesla employees, Musk emphasised the importance of communication between the workforce and management in securing a safer working environment:
“No words can express how much I care about your safety and wellbeing. It breaks my heart when someone is injured building cars and trying their best to make Tesla successful.
"Going forward, I’ve asked that every injury be reported directly to me, without exception. I’m meeting with the safety team every week and would like to meet every injured person as soon as they are well, so that I can understand from them exactly what we need to do to make it better. I will then go down to the production line and perform the same task that they perform.
This is what all managers at Tesla should do as a matter of course. At Tesla, we lead from the front line, not from some safe and comfortable ivory tower. Managers must always put their team’s safety above their own.”
Although this type of management style is extremely characteristic of Musk, it has been partially motivated by figures that suggest the injury rate at Tesla’s Fremont factory is above average.
Musk is certainly taking the right steps to tackling workplace injuries though, proving again why Tesla is one of the most proactive and innovative carmakers around.
