Research on factors affecting the risk-taking behavior of personnel working in the forest products sector

Objectives. The fact that occupational accidents are a permanent problem in the forest products sector encouraged this research to be conducted on the factors affecting the risk-taking behavior (RTB) of employees in the sector. Understanding the RTB of employees in the sector would help managers to reduce occupational accidents and to develop effective safety interventions. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of individual, organizational and workplace factors and sub-factors on the RTB of employees by using the structural equation model (SEM). Methods. A survey was conducted on 623 employees of the forest products sector in 64 enterprises in the provinces of Düzce, Bolu, Sakarya, Kocaeli and Yalova. Results. The results revealed that organizational and workplace factors had a significant effect on the RTB of the employees. However, no effect was found for individual factors, although the sub-factor of cognitive bias had a positive impact on RTB. In contrast, safety climate, safety training, use of personal protective equipment (PPE)-1 and working conditions negatively impacted the RTB of the employees. Conclusions. In terms of occupational health and safety, this study could serve to guide both sector managers and decision-makers on ways to improve the safety perception of their employees.