Factors affecting the safety climate of the ship's crew: Empirical evidence from shipping companies in Indonesia

Haas E.J., Yoon K., McClain C., Sietsema M., Hornbeck A., Hines S., Chalikonda S., Angelilli S., Waltenbaugh H., Thurman P., Napoli M., Fernando R.

Background: Availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and its effective use may influence safety climate perceptions among health care personnel (HCP). It is unclear how health care organizations can leverage the effective use of respiratory protection to engage in continuous improvement of their safety climate, which can inform opportunities for employee education and engagement. Methods: After using an elastomeric half mask respirator (EHMR) as their primary form of respiratory protection for several months, 1,080 HCP provided feedback in an electronic survey about respiratory protection training, confidence in EHMR use, barriers during use, and perceived safety climate. Ordinal logistic regressions were used as nonlinear models to test relationships between these variables. Findings: We observed that an increase in user confidence ( p < .013), training content ( p < .001), training formats ( p < .001), and a decrease in EHMR barriers ( p < .001) were associated with a statistically significant increase in proactive safety climate. In the second model, an increase in user confidence ( p < .006) and training content ( p < .001), and a decrease in barriers ( p < .001), was associated with a statistically significant increase in compliant safety climate. Conclusions/Application to Practice: HCP EHMR confidence was positively associated with safety climate perceptions, underscoring the value of competency building by respiratory protection leaders prior to implementation. Because fewer barriers experienced while using an EHMR were associated with a more positive perception of safety climate, it is important to first communicate with end users about potential barriers and, second, to continue research with end users and manufacturers to improve the design of EHMRs moving forward.

Zhou M., Chen X., He L., Ouedraogo F.A.

Workplace accidents are of great concern in the construction industry. Most of those accidents are caused by unsafe behavior in the workplace. Many previous studies have analyzed the causes of workers’ unsafe behaviors, but few have investigated workers’ feelings of insecurity from the perspective of systematic psychological theory. This study developed an attitude–behavior–intervention feedback loop mechanism of construction workers and used the dual-attitude theory to explain the occurrence mechanisms of unsafe behavior. Using this mechanism, an active-intervention system-dynamics model and a passive-intervention system-dynamics model were designed and simulated. The coefficient of the system dynamics equation in the simulation model involved meta-analysis to combine the correlation coefficients of existing studies, which increased the sample size and improved the statistical test efficiency. The results show that an implicit safety attitude has a more significant impact on safety behavior, and the effect of an active intervention is stronger than that of a passive intervention. Based on these results, this paper presents some feasible suggestions to reduce the probability of unsafe worker behaviors occurring.

Xu Z., Suntrayuth S.

This study aims to explore the relationship between organizational innovation climate (OIC) and innovative work behavior (IWB), using psychological safety (PS) and knowledge sharing (KS) as mediating variables. Based on the social cognitive theory (SCT), this study proposes a conceptual framework to explore innovative work behavior. The structural model of the extended SCT model was tested using sample data from 446 R&amp;D staff of high-tech enterprises in China. SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0 were used to test the hypothetical model. The results indicated that organizational innovation climate was positively correlated with psychological safety and innovative work behavior. Psychological safety was positively correlated with innovative work behavior. Knowledge sharing was significantly and positively correlated with innovative work behavior. Moreover, Psychological safety and knowledge sharing play a significant mediating role in the relationship between organizational innovation climate and innovative work behavior, and psychological safety further improves individual innovative work behavior by influencing knowledge sharing among research team members. At the end of the study, this study thoroughly discussed the conclusions, practical implications, limitations, and future research directions of the study.

Shen L., Gu X., Zhang T., Lee J.

Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991), this study aimed to test a hypothesized path model of TPB variables (i.e., attitude toward behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention) with physical activity (PA) and depressive symptoms. A total of 792 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 16.9; SD = 0.82; 54.5% females) completed previously validated questionnaires assessing their TPB variables, PA, and depressive symptoms. Correlation analysis revealed TPB variables were positively associated with PA (p < 0.01), and negatively correlated to depressive symptoms (p < 0.01). The path analyses indicated that the hypothesized model produces a goodness of fit (χ2/df = 16.14/5, CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.06). The findings support the theoretical tenets of TPB and provide empirical evidence of the psychosocial mechanism of PA and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents. It suggests that building PA intervention strategies while considering the TPB framework may promote adolescents’ physical and mental health.

Shea T., De Cieri H., Vu T., Pettit T.

• This is the first comprehensive review and evaluation of generic measures of safety climate. • We reviewed 44 articles containing 49 measures of safety climate. • We identified substantial flaws in the conceptualization and measurement of safety climate. • We offer detailed and specific guidance for future research on safety climate. Safety climate is central to scholarship in workplace safety, yet there is a lack of clarity and consensus in the way safety climate has been conceptualized and measured. Since Zohar’s (1980) pivotal work on safety climate, there has been a proliferation of scales to measure this construct. This is the first review and critical evaluation of safety climate measures. We searched several databases from January 1980 to December 2019 for studies relating to safety climate with the aim of capturing all publicly available generic measures of safety climate. Our search identified 1665 peer reviewed journal articles. After removing duplicates and applying our exclusion criteria, we reviewed 44 articles containing 49 measures of safety climate. The results of this review identified deficiencies and inconsistencies in the way safety climate has been conceptualized and measured. Our review found that the scale validation process has been skewed towards scale development rather than scale evaluation and, despite the inherently multilevel nature of safety climate, the psychometric evaluation of safety climate as a multilevel construct has rarely been examined. Our findings hold important implications and we offer guidance for future research. Clarity, consensus and rigor in measurement are imperative for the advancement of safety climate research and critical to any understanding of the impact of safety climate on safety outcomes.

Nkrumah E.N., Liu S., Doe Fiergbor D., Akoto L.S.

The preventive systems required to ensure workers are protected from occupational accidents and injuries dwell heavily on effective occupational health and safety management (OHSM) systems and practices. In this study, the concepts of the job demand-resource model (JD-R), self-determination theory (SDT), and perceived organizational support for safety (POSS) theory were adopted to develop a holistic conceptual model that seeks to unravel moderating and mediating effects of work motivation on the causal link between OHSM practices and work performance in the oil and gas sector. The study measured OHSM practices from six distinct safety dimensional perspectives and work performance using a two-dimensional distinct construct that assesses different aspects of positive work behaviours. A quantitative research approach through the structural equation modelling analysis technique was applied. A total of 1310 participants were selected across three major organizations that represent downstream, upstream, and middle stream of the Ghanaian oil and gas sector. Respondents were recruited through stratified, purposive, and convenient sampling techniques. The findings from the path estimate through the SEM analysis suggested that OHSM practices positively and significantly influenced both safety performance and task performance of employees. However, OHSM practices indicated a higher positive significant influence on task performance than safety performance. The significant influence of OHSM practices on both task and safety performance was significantly moderated and partially mediated by work motivation, while both task performance and safety performance were significantly determined by work motivation. In this study, the dimensions for assessing work performance extend the performance theories established in previous literature, whereas the integrated multifaceted OHSM practices employed diverge from the traditional individualistic approach by providing insights into more flexible managerial practices that are employee-centred and outcome-oriented. The findings from this study address the need for organizations to appreciate the importance of managing workers’ perception of OHSM practices as a motivational drive that induces work performance.

Joseph A., Dalaklis D.

Deng Y., Guo H., Meng M., Zhang Y., Pei S.

The safety climate is becoming more and more important in the processes of subway operation safety management due to various accidents. The research objective of this study is to explore the effects of safety climate and personal factors on safety behavior in subway operation. First, a conceptual model is developed based on the literature review and expert experience. Then, data are collected from 352 workers in the Xuzhou subway operation company by questionnaire survey. Third, the structural equation model is employed to do model analysis based on SPSS and AMOS, and the final model is achieved through a serious of model tests and modification. At last, the quantitative effect of safety climate on worker’s safety behavior in subway operation is obtained and analyzed. The results show that the descending order of total influence effect of safety climate on safety behavior is safety attitude (0.36), safety communication (0.265), safety policy (0.238), safety education and training (0.1), management commitment (0.099), and safety participation (0.073), respectively. The total influence effects of mediator variables (safety awareness and safety ability) are 0.242 and 0.194, respectively. This study would be beneficial by offering recommendations in regard to worker’s safety behavior to raise the safety level in subway operation.

Zhang T., Liu Z., Zheng S., Qu X., Tao D.

Commissioning workers at nuclear power plants have long been ignored in previous studies, although their performance is closely related to the overall safety of plants. This study aimed to explain and predict three types of behavior, i.e., errors, violations, and safety participation, of commissioning workers, under the general framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and by considering organization and planning factors. The validity of the model was evaluated with a sample of 167 commissioning workers who completed a self-reported questionnaire. The results showed that perceived behavioral control, along with organization and planning, significantly affected all types of behavior. It was also found that violations and errors were a direct result of attitude. Besides, errors were predicted by subjective norm; unexpectedly, this occurred in a positive way. These findings revealed the underlying mechanisms for the development of errors, violations, and safety participation among commissioning workers and provided practical implications for safety improvement at the commissioning workplace.

Guerin R.J., Toland M.D.

For many reasons, including a lack of adequate safety training and education, U.S. adolescents experience a higher rate of job-related injury compared to adult workers. Widely used social-psychological theories in public health research and practice, such as the theory of planned behavior, may provide guidance for developing and evaluating school-based interventions to prepare adolescents for workplace hazards and risks.Using a structural equation modeling approach, the current study explores whether a modified theory of planned behavior model provides insight on 1,748 eighth graders' occupational safety and health (OSH) attitude, subjective norm, self-efficacy and behavioral intention, before and after receiving instruction on a free, national young worker safety and health curriculum. Reliability estimates for the measures were produced and direct and indirect associations between knowledge and other model constructs assessed.Overall, the findings align with the theory of planned behavior. The structural equation model adequately fit the data; most path coefficients are statistically significant and knowledge has indirect effects on behavioral intention. Confirmatory factor analyses suggest that the knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention measures each reflect a unique dimension (reliability estimates ≥0.86), while the subjective norm measure did not perform adequately.The findings presented provide support for using behavioral theory (specifically a modified theory of planned behavior) to investigate adolescents' knowledge, perceptions, and behavioral intention to engage in safe and healthful activities at work, an understanding of which may contribute to reducing the downstream burden of injury on this vulnerable population-the future workforce. Practical application: Health behavior theories, commonly used in the social and behavioral sciences, have utility and provide guidance for developing and evaluating OSH interventions, including those aimed at preventing injuries and promoting the health and safety of adolescent workers in the U.S., who are injured at higher rates than are adults.

Guerin R.J., Sleet D.A.

Work-related morbidity and mortality are persistent public health problems across all US industrial sectors, including health care. People employed in health care and social services are at high risk for experiencing injuries and illnesses related to their work. Social and behavioral science theories can be useful tools for designing interventions to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses and can provide a roadmap for investigating the multilevel factors that may hinder or promote worker safety and health. Specifically, individual-level behavioral change theories can be useful in evaluating the proximal, person-related antecedents (such as perceived behavioral control) that influence work safety outcomes. This article (1) provides a brief overview of widely used, individual-level behavior change theories and examples of their application to occupational safety and health (OSH)–related interventions that involve the health care community; (2) introduces an integrated theory of behavior change and its application to promoting the OSH of health care workers; and (3) discusses opportunities for application of individual-level behavior change theory to OSH research and practice activities involving health care workers. The use of behavioral science to consider the role of individual behaviors in promoting health and preventing disease and injury provides a necessary complement to structural approaches to protecting workers in the health care industry.

Tvedt S., Oltedal H., Batalden B.M., Oliveira M.

In the maritime industry, it is of vital importance that personnel onboard ships are familiarized with the ship’s layout, along with safety equipment and processes for safeguarding of the individual seafarer and the ship’s crew. In fact, international maritime regulations require that all personnel employed or engaged on a seagoing ship receive proper familiarization training. However, several studies have identified lack of familiarization as a contributing factor to maritime incidents. There are several challenges associated with the current familiarization practices: cost, difficulty in optimizing planning, variation in practices in familiarization and the experience of the facilitator of familiarization process. This paper presents a study consisting of 58 students comparing traditional and virtual familiarization. No overall difference was found between real and virtual familiarization overall, although some differences were found for single waypoints. Individual differences were more important than treatment, indicating that virtual familiarization can perform on par with traditional approaches.

Guerin R.J., Toland M.D., Okun A.H., Rojas-Guyler L., Bernard A.L.

Work, a defining feature of adolescence in the United States, has many benefits. Work also has risks, as adolescents experience a higher rate of serious job-related injuries compared to adults. Talking Safety, a free curriculum from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, is one tool educators may adopt to provide teens with essential workplace safety and health education. Adolescents (N = 2503; female, 50.1%; Hispanic, 50.0%) in a large urban school district received Talking Safety from their eighth-grade science teachers. This study used a modified theory of planned behavior (which included a knowledge construct), to examine students’ pre- and post-intervention scores on workplace safety and health knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention to enact job safety skills. The results from confirmatory factor analyses indicate three unique dimensions reflecting the theory, with a separate knowledge factor. Reliability estimates are ω ≥ .83. The findings from the structural equation models demonstrate that all paths, except pre- to posttest behavioral intention, are statistically significant. Self-efficacy is the largest contributor to the total effect of these associations. As hypothesized, knowledge has indirect effects on behavioral intention. Hispanic students scored lower at posttest on all but the behavioral intention measure, possibly suggesting the need for tailored materials to reach some teens. Overall the findings support the use of a modified theory of planned behavior to evaluate the effectiveness of a foundational workplace safety and health curriculum. This study may inform future efforts to ensure that safe and healthy work becomes integral to the adolescent experience.

Beus J.M., Payne S.C., Arthur W., Muñoz G.J.

Although safety climate research has increased in recent years, persisting conceptual ambiguity not only raises questions about what safety climate really is—as operationalized in the literature—but also inhibits increased scientific understanding of the construct. Consequently, using climate theory and research as a conceptual basis, we inductively articulated safety climate’s general content domain by identifying seven core indicators of safety’s perceived workplace priority: leader safety commitment, safety communication, safety training, coworker safety practices, safety equipment and housekeeping, safety involvement, and safety rewards. These indicators formed the basis for a generalized safety climate measure that we designed for use across organizations, industries, and construct levels. We then conducted a multilevel construct validation of safety climate using the newly created measure in two separate studies. Results from five samples spanning multiple organizations, industries, and cultural settings revealed that the identified safety climate indicators were parsimoniously explained by an overarching safety climate factor at the individual and workgroup levels. In addition, multilevel homology tests indicated that safety climate’s associations with past safety incidents were nearly two times stronger at the workgroup level relative to the individual level, although this difference was not statistically significant. Finally, workgroup-level validity evidence demonstrated expected associations between safety climate and organization-reported pre- and postsurvey safety incidents. On the basis of this supportive evidence, we recommend that this conceptualization and measure of safety climate be adopted in research and practice to facilitate future scientific progress.

Ploum L., Blok V., Lans T., Omta O.

Knowledge, skills, and attitudes to manage sustainable development have become significant components of different career paths. Previous research has explored which competencies are needed for future change agents in the field of sustainable development. Sustainable entrepreneurship can be seen as a promising work context in which these competencies are truly at the forefront and enacted. Several researchers have compiled frameworks of key competencies. However, their work is exploratory in nature and a more in-depth analysis of these frameworks is called for. In this study, an existing competence framework for sustainable entrepreneurship was tested in terms of construct validity, among 402 would-be entrepreneurs. The results suggest the inclusion of six competencies, which constitute a competence framework with a good model fit. Furthermore, a new combination of two existing competencies is proposed. This study has important implications for the debate on which competencies for sustainable entrepreneurship are essential on theoretical and empirical grounds.