The two times I've been to SELEM make me less worried than I should be with safety.
I work alone, and with lasers in known directions. I never get caught off guard by an argon ion erratically shining in a predetermined direction, so glasses aren't even glanced at.
I've also been blinded, first hand, by our very own Sam Goldwasser. There was a ~2.5W 532nm lab head in the BST room. While we all oo'ed and ah'ed. He took the white frame of a pair of diffraction glasses, and dropped it right in the beam path.
Like a green flash bang.
That said. When you say "this 1mw is much safer than my 2.4mw". You're basically saying "this name brand hand cleaner is much better and safer than that Great Value nonsense". Both are equally safe for you.