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Relations among occupational hazards, attitudes, and safety performance
Michael T Ford1, Lois E Tetrick
1Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222, USA. mford@albany.edu
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
|February 2, 2011
Summary
Occupational hazards decrease employee empowerment and identification, impacting safety participation. Supervisor actions and empowerment influence personal protective equipment use, enhancing workplace safety performance.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health Psychology
- Organizational Behavior
- Human Factors Engineering
Background:
- Understanding factors influencing occupational safety performance is crucial for preventing workplace incidents.
- Psychological empowerment and organizational identification are key employee attitudes that may impact safety behaviors.
- The influence of the occupational context on these psychological factors and subsequent safety outcomes requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between occupational context (hazards, demands) and psychological empowerment and organizational identification.
- To investigate psychological empowerment and organizational identification as predictors of occupational safety performance (PPE use, safety participation).
- To explore the moderating role of supervisor safety practices in the relationship between psychological factors and safety performance.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey was administered to 171 hospital employees across 17 units and 21 occupations.
- Measures included psychological empowerment, organizational identification, supervisor safety practices, personal protective equipment use, and safety participation.
- Occupational context data (hazards, physical demands) were obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database.
Main Results:
- Occupational hazards were negatively associated with psychological empowerment and organizational identification.
- Psychological empowerment and organizational identification positively predicted safety participation.
- An interaction effect was found between psychological empowerment/organizational identification and supervisor safety actions in predicting personal protective equipment use.
Conclusions:
- The occupational context significantly influences employee psychological states, which in turn affect safety behaviors.
- Interventions aimed at enhancing psychological empowerment and organizational identification may improve safety participation.
- Supervisor support for safety, combined with employee empowerment, is vital for ensuring the consistent use of personal protective equipment.
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