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High-quality work, job satisfaction, and occupational injuries
Julian Barling1, E Kevin Kelloway, Roderick D Iverson
1School of Business, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. jbarling@business.queensu.ca
The Journal of Applied Psychology
|May 7, 2003
Summary
High-quality jobs, characterized by training, variety, and autonomy, directly reduce occupational injuries. They also indirectly lower injury risk by improving job satisfaction, highlighting the importance of job design for worker safety.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Workplace Psychology
- Human Resource Management
Background:
- High-performance work systems are linked to organizational outcomes.
- The specific impact of job quality on occupational injuries requires further investigation.
- Understanding mediating factors like job satisfaction is crucial for injury prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the direct and indirect effects of high-quality jobs on occupational injuries.
- To determine if job satisfaction mediates the relationship between job quality and injuries.
- To analyze these relationships using a large-scale Australian dataset.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the Australian WIRS95 database (N = 16,466).
- Statistical modeling to assess direct and indirect effects.
- Focus on job components: training, variety, and autonomy.
Main Results:
- High-quality jobs demonstrated a significant direct negative effect on occupational injuries.
- Job satisfaction was found to mediate the relationship between job quality and injury incidence.
- The findings underscore the protective role of well-designed jobs.
Conclusions:
- Implementing high-quality jobs is an effective strategy for reducing occupational injuries.
- Enhancing job satisfaction through improved job design can further mitigate injury risks.
- These findings have practical implications for workplace safety interventions and policy.