Sharon Clarke

The relationship between safety climate and safety performance: A meta-analytic review

The current study used meta-analysis to examine the criterion-related validity of the relationships between safety climate, safety performance (participation and compliance), and occupational accidents and injuries. Support was found for the studys hypotheses linking organizational safety climate to employee safety compliance and participation, with the latter demonstrating the stronger relationship; however, the subsequent links to accident involvement were found to be weak, suggesting limited support for a fully mediated model. The relationship between safety climate and accident involvement was found to be moderated by the study design, such that only prospective designs, in which accidents were measured following the measurement of safety climate, demonstrated validity generalization. The implications of the findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Perceptions of organizational safety: implications for the development of safety culture

Regulatory bodies in the U.K. have emphasized the importance of ‘a positive health and safety culture’ to the safety performance of companies. A key feature of a companys safety culture is shared perceptions amongst managers and staff concerning the importance of safety. This study recorded the perceptions of 312 British Rail train drivers, supervisors and senior managers concerning the relative importance of 25 railway factors. Each level also gave their estimates of the ratings of the other levels. The study found that whilst there was a shared perception of the importance of safety, intergroup perceptions were not realistic. It is argued that accurate intergroup perceptions are essential to the development of mutual trust and understanding between levels, which forms the basis for a positive safety culture. Suggestions for establishing the foundations for a positive safety culture are discussed. Copyright

A meta‐analytic review of the Big Five personality factors and accident involvement in occupational and non‐occupational settings

Although a number of studies have examined individual personality traits and their influence on accident involvement, consistent evidence of a predictive relationship is lacking due to contradictory findings. The current study reports a meta-analysis of the relationship between accident involvement and the Big Five personality dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness). Low conscientiousness and low agreeableness were found to be valid and generalizable predictors of accident involvement, with corrected mean validities of .27 and .26, respectively. The context of the accident acts as a moderator in the personality-accident relationship, with different personality dimensions associated with occupational and non-occupational accidents. Extraversion was found to be a valid and generalizable predictor of traffic accidents, but not occupational accidents. Avenues for further research are highlighted and discussed.

An integrative model of safety climate: Linking psychological climate and work attitudes to individual safety outcomes using meta-analysis

Meta-analytic path analysis was utilised to test an integrative model linking perceived safety climate to hypothesized organisational antecedents and individual outcomes. Psychological climate, especially the perception of organisational attributes, was found to be significantly associated with safety climate (both constructs measured at the individual level). A partial mediation model was supported. Within this model, the relationship between safety climate and safety behaviour was partially mediated by work-related attitudes (organisational commitment and job satisfaction), and the relationship between safety climate and occupational accidents was partially mediated by both safety behaviour and general health. Safety climate acted as a partial mediator in the relationship between psychological climate and safety behaviour, with direct effects from climate perceptions relating to the leader and organisational processes. Avenues for further research and practical implications are discussed.

Safety culture: under‐specified and overrated?

Is the measurement of ‘safety culture’ a valid management tool in the effort to reduce accident rate and improve safety performance, or is it a fuzzy academic concept, lacking empirical validation? The answer to this question seems to depend on whom one asks. The UK Health and Safety Commission has encouraged companies to improve their safety performance through the development of a ‘positive safety culture’. However, academic discussions in this area suggest that the concept remains vague, lacks empirical validation and is used as an ‘umbrella term’ for all the social and organizational factors that affect accident rate. This paper reviews the existing literature on safety culture and provides some clarification in terms of definition, empirical evidence and theoretical development. A theoretical framework of the mechanisms by which safety culture affects safety behaviours in organizations is proposed. The implications for practical management issues are discussed and future challenges and areas for further research are identified.

Safety climate in an automobile manufacturing plant: The effects of work environment, job communication and safety attitudes on accidents and unsafe behaviour

Purpose – The study aims to examine the safety attitudes of workers, supervisors and managers in a UK‐based car manufacturing plant, and their relationship with unsafe behaviour and accidents.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire methodology is used to measure safety attitudes and perceptions. The data are analysed using factor analysis and hierarchical multiple regression.Findings – The factor structure of the safety climate at the plant comprised three factors: managers concern for safety; workers response to safety; conflict between production and safety, which correspond to those found in previous studies in the UK manufacturing sector. Whilst safety climate did not predict accident involvement at the plant, workers response to safety and conflict between production and safety significantly predicted unsafe behaviour. Perceptions of the work environment had important effects as a significant predictor of both accidents and unsafe behaviour. However, job communication failed to predict eithe...

The Contemporary Workforce: implications for organisational safety culture

Companies are being encouraged to adopt a positive organisational safety culture in order to safeguard their operations against accidents. The viability of a positive safety culture within the context of a diverse workforce, characterised by a reduced number of permanent employees, supplemented with more contingent and contract workers, is considered. This review summarises theoretical and empirical evidence of the likely effects of changing employment arrangements on safety attitudes and behaviours, and implications for organisational safety culture. It is argued that it will be more difficult to integrate employees with diverse working arrangements, compared to a workforce of permanent employees, into a corporate safety culture. Human resource management techniques and practices are identified as ways of developing and maintaining positive safety attitudes across all types of employees. The need for further empirical work is discussed.

The risk management of occupational stress

In Europe, occupational stress is considered as a risk-assessable disease. Recent high-profile litigation cases have raised awareness of the risk posed by workplace stress. Whilst legislation provides guidelines for the risk assessment of physical hazards, there remains little guidance for employers concerning occupational stress. This article proposes a risk management methodology that might be used to identify hazards and assess the level of risk associated with those hazards, using well-validated stress audit instruments, for example the Occupational Stress Indicator. It is suggested that a risk management approach is both informative and cost-effective. High risks, which may require more expensive organisational development solutions, can be differentiated and prioritised from lower risks, which may be effectively controlled through stress management or Employee Assistance Programmes.

Organizational factors affecting the incident reporting of train drivers

Abstract The under-reporting of accidents and incidents is well established as a substantial problem across industries; however, few studies have specifically examined employees reasons for failing to report. This study investigates the factors affecting incident reporting by train drivers (n = 128) in three different areas of British Rail (the company that operated the railway network in Britain, prior to its privatization in 1994). Drivers completed a questionnaire rating their likelihood of reporting a number of hazardous incidents and giving their reasons for not reporting them. Intention not to report incidents was predicted by ‘managers take no notice’ of reports and the interaction between ‘just part of the days work’ and ‘nothing would get done’. It is concluded that incident reporting is most influenced by the way that drivers perceive managers reactions to reports. In addition, the three areas differed significantly in their likelihood of reporting incidents, suggesting that the local subcult...

Occupational stress, job satisfaction and well-being in anaesthetists

An understanding of the extent and aetiology of occupational stress within medical specialities is lacking, despite the extensive research into stress in health care organizations. This study examines the nature of stress experienced by anaesthetists and its effect on job satisfaction and individual well-being. The Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) and additional anaesthetist-specific stress questions were distributed to 1000 members of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, yielding 564 useable responses. Compared to other workers, anaesthetists reported high levels of stress comparable to other health care professionals. Four themes emerged: daily demands, communication within the hospital, maintaining standards of patient care, accountability. Multiple regression analyses found that organizational issues, especially communication within the hospital and perceived lack of control, were most important in determining job satisfaction and individual well-being. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed. Copyright