Leader and subordinate perceptions impact different elements of safety reporting.

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Occupational Safety and Health

Background:

• Leader-subordinate relationships are known to influence workplace safety.
• However, the distinct impact of leader versus subordinate perceptions on specific safety behaviors requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how leader and subordinate perceptions influence three key safety-related issues: safety underreporting, near misses, and frequency of safety incident reporting.
• To determine the differential impact of these perceptions on various safety behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a large-scale dataset with over 11,000 participants.
• Statistical examination of the relationship between leader perceptions, subordinate perceptions, and safety outcomes.

Main Results:

• Increased negativity in both leader and subordinate perceptions correlated with a rise in problematic safety-related issues.
• Leader and subordinate perceptions demonstrated the strongest influence on safety underreporting.
• A moderate relationship was found between perceptions and the likelihood of experiencing a near miss.
• A statistically significant, yet weakest, relationship was observed with the frequency of actual safety incident reporting.

Conclusions:

• Negative leader and subordinate perceptions significantly exacerbate safety underreporting and increase the likelihood of near misses.
• While all three safety aspects are influenced, safety underreporting is most sensitive to perceptions.
• Leader and subordinate perceptions exert a robust influence across multiple facets of the overall safety climate.