Rail Professional Magazine (September 2025) Article: Unseen Risks in Routine Work
In a recent feature for Rail Professional Magazine, Laura Hedley, in partnership with South Eastern Railway, highlighted a subtle but critical safety risk in frontline operations: complacency.
The article explains that, while often overlooked, complacency can quietly erode even the strongest safety systems, leading to reduced vigilance, overconfidence, and unnoticed lapses in risk awareness. OPC psychologists designed and delivered a dedicated workshop to explore this issue in detail with South Eastern Railway’s frontline teams.
Over 150 safety-critical employees took part in guided group discussions, exploring what complacency looks like, how it develops, and how individuals and teams can recognise it.
The piece shared the key outputs from the content analysis of the groups’ feedback. Some key warning signs were identified such as working in ‘autopilot’ and poor task execution, alongside key drivers such as routine, fatigue and stress. Importantly, the findings showed that complacency is rarely just an individual failing; it can often reflect wider organisational pressures.
Laura emphasises that complacency is multi-dimensional, shaped by cognitive, emotional, and behavioural factors. The article also shared practical strategies to help combat complacency.
"The new complacency workshop has been hugely valuable. It's helped our people strengthen how we manage daily risks, and particularly the subtle nature of complacency."
Bob Coulson, Infrastructure Director at South Eastern Railway
Get in touch with our team to discover how we can help you tackle complacency and enhance safety performance.