← Your daily dose of motivation
183 quotes, page 1 of 7Safety, health and getting home in one piece
For the driver at the end of a long shift, the forklift operator and the carer on nights: rest, care and the minute that saves a life. Every job ends with going home.
We say who really said each one, and where the credit is uncertain we tell you. Every card is ours to share.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Benjamin Franklin, letter to the Pennsylvania Gazette (1735). Franklin was writing about fire safety in Philadelphia.
Five minutes on a walk round check costs far less than a breakdown on the motorway. Do the check.
“Better safe than sorry.”
English proverb
If a load looks wrong, stop and restrap it. Nobody ever lost a job for being careful.
“Haste makes waste.”
English proverb, recorded by John Heywood (1546)
Rushing a pick list means wrong items, returns and twice the work. Steady is faster in the end.
“More haste, less speed.”
English proverb
On a busy shift the urge is to run. Walk briskly instead: you will slip less and finish sooner.
“Prevention is better than cure.”
English proverb
Wear the gloves and the goggles before the splash, not after. Prevention is the whole point.
“Health is better than wealth.”
English proverb
Overtime is welcome, but not at the cost of your back or your sleep. Your health pays for everything else.
“Laughter is the best medicine.”
English proverb
A shared laugh in the staff room can lift a hard shift for the whole team.
“Rest is not idleness.”
John Lubbock, The Use of Life (1894)
Taking your full break is not slacking. It is how you stay sharp for the second half of the shift.
“The beginning of health is sleep.”
Irish proverb
Night shift workers: blackout blinds and a regular bedtime are worth more than any energy drink.
“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.”
Irish proverb
After a rough week, switch off, see friends and sleep in. It is part of doing the job well.
“Walking is man's best medicine.”
Attributed to Hippocrates. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
A short walk on your lunch break clears the head after hours at a desk or behind the wheel.
“Life is short, the art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment treacherous, judgment difficult.”
Hippocrates, Aphorisms 1.1
Any trade takes years to master. Be patient with yourself and learn safely, one shift at a time.
“Make a habit of two things: to help, or at least to do no harm.”
Hippocrates, Epidemics, Book 1
Carers and support workers live by this: if you cannot fix it, make sure you do not make it worse.
“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.”
Hippocrates, Precepts 1
If you are coming back from an injury, take the phased return. Healing is not a race.
“Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.”
Hippocrates, Precepts 6. Translation varies.
Good care work starts with liking people. Skills can be taught; kindness has to be brought.
“A wise man ought to realize that health is his most valuable possession.”
Attributed to Hippocrates. Usually traced to the Hippocratic text Regimen in Health.
No contract is worth a damaged back. Use the trolley, ask for a hand, and lift properly.
“It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a Hospital that it should do the sick no harm.”
Florence Nightingale, Notes on Hospitals (1863)
Clean hands, dry floors and clear corridors are the first job in any care setting.
“Unnecessary noise is the most cruel absence of care which can be inflicted either on sick or well.”
Florence Nightingale, Notes on Nursing (1859)
On a night shift in a care home, quiet doors and soft voices are part of the care.
“The most important practical lesson that can be given to nurses is to teach them what to observe, how to observe.”
Florence Nightingale, Notes on Nursing (1859)
Noticing that a resident has stopped eating, or a colleague looks worn out, is a skill. Keep your eyes open.
“Apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, fear of surprise, do a patient more harm than any exertion.”
Florence Nightingale, Notes on Nursing (1859)
Tell people what is happening and when. A clear plan calms patients, customers and new starters alike.
“The greatest wealth is health.”
Attributed to Virgil. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
When you weigh up a job offer, count the commute, the hours and the stress as well as the pay.
“Health is not valued till sickness comes.”
Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia (1732)
Book the eye test and the dentist while you are well. Drivers especially need good eyesight.
“Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care.”
William Shakespeare, Macbeth (Act 2, Scene 2). A sleave is a tangled skein of silk thread.
A good night's sleep untangles a bad day. Worries look smaller after rest.
“The better part of valour is discretion.”
William Shakespeare, Henry IV Part 1 (Act 5, Scene 4)
Saying no to an unsafe lift is not weakness. It is the smart, brave choice.
“Fast bind, fast find; a proverb never stale in thrifty mind.”
William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (Act 2, Scene 5)
Strap the load properly and it will still be there, undamaged, at the other end.
“Our foster-nurse of nature is repose.”
William Shakespeare, King Lear (Act 4, Scene 4)
Rest is not a reward for finishing. It is what lets you keep going.
“Weariness can snore upon the flint, when resty sloth finds the down pillow hard.”
William Shakespeare, Cymbeline (Act 3, Scene 6). Resty means sluggish.
After a day of honest graft on site, you will sleep anywhere. Make sure it is somewhere safe.
“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”
Thomas Dekker, The Gull's Hornbook (1609)
Shift workers: guard your sleep like you guard your pay. Everything else rests on it.
“God bless the inventor of sleep, the cloak that covers all human thoughts.”
Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part 2 (1615). Said by Sancho Panza. Wording varies by translation.
Put the phone down an hour before bed. Your thoughts deserve a rest too.
“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”
John Steinbeck, Sweet Thursday (1954)
Do not make big decisions at the end of a twelve hour shift. Sleep on it first.
Other sections
- Work and keeping going (447)
- Stoic calm (235)
- An open mind (272)
- Starting a business (245)
- For leaders (167)
- Working with people (155)
- Mindset and habits (246)
- Safety and health (183)
- Starting again (174)
- Pride in the job (156)
- True stories of people who started small