The person who reports a hazard may be delaying the work that keeps them employed.

Reporting a hazard can mean delaying the work that pays you. The person best placed to see the problem is often the one with the most to lose by naming it, and that conflict is built into the arrangement rather than being a failure of individual courage. Systems that rely on people reporting against their own interest will fail quietly.

If you have any authority, remove the cost: make reporting anonymous, reward it visibly, and never let a report slow someone’s own pay. And if you are the one deciding whether to speak, know that the reluctance you feel is structural. Where you can, find someone with less exposure to raise it with you.