Evaluation of psychosocial hazards and their effects on safety culture in mining with structural equation modeling

Objectives. Psychosocial hazards causing stress in the workplace are one of the sources of danger to be considered in risk assessment. In this study, to determine the exposure of employees to psychosocial hazards, a questionnaire was created with occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals and psychiatrists based on the work created by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) on work stress. Methods. The questionnaire was applied to 306 mining workers and the interaction levels of psychosocial hazards were evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results. The psychosocial hazard assessment scale (PHAS) was developed and used to investigate the effects of other factors on the safety culture of employees. Conclusion. The study determined that employees who are worried about being unemployed reflect their social problems in work life and have difficulty in following OHS rules. Employees who have a clear role in a company with a developed organizational culture have a better safety culture. The study also determined that employees working in workplaces where the management looks positively toward OHS improvements try to act in accordance with the OHS rules.