Nurse safety: How is safety climate related to affect and attitude?

Occupational accidents and injuries continue to be a critical concern for nurses, given the hazardous healthcare environment. This study advances the research on workplace safety by studying the process variables (i.e. job-related negative affect (JRNA) and job satisfaction) in explaining the relationship between safety climate and various safety criteria in nurses. Based on survey data from 326 nurses, our findings suggest that psychological safety climate is negatively related to JRNA, turnover intentions, safety workarounds, and workplace hazards. In addition, structural equation modelling indicated general support for a model in which psychological safety climate influences employee strain through job attitudes, including JRNA and job satisfaction. More specifically, job attitudes were found to mediate the relationship between psychological safety climate and turnover intentions, experience of hazards, and injuries. Safety workarounds did not significantly relate to injuries. The present study contributes to the ongoing improvement of interventions aimed at mitigating nurses’ injuries by integrating job attitudes into the safety climate–safety outcome framework.     

Safety climate and safety outcomes: A meta-analytic comparison of universal vs. industry-specific safety climate predictive validity

Previous research has demonstrated that safety climate is a robust predictor of safety-related outcomes. However, there is little consensus about the optimal strategy to measure safety climate. One of the main issues has been whether safety climate measures should be universal or industry-specific. As such, this study was designed to examine the criterion-related validity of universal and industry-specific safety climate measures by conducting a meta-analytic comparison of their relationships with a variety of safety-related outcomes (i.e. safety behaviour, risk perceptions, accidents and injuries, and other adverse events). With 120 independent samples (N?=?81,213), we found that the industry-specific safety climate measures displayed better predictive power when predicting safety behaviour and risk perceptions than the universal safety climate measures. On the other hand, the universal safety climate measures displayed better predictive power when predicting other adverse events (but not accidents and injuries) than the industry-specific safety climate measures. We discuss these findings in light of the intended use of organisational safety climate surveys.     

安全事故现状与趋势分析方法研究

包括安全生产事故预防、控制在内的安全生产监督管理工作需要客观把握安全生产的现状并准确地判断其总体发展趋势。本文基于我国安全生产事故快报数据,对近年安全生产现状做出季节性等分析,并为短期安全生产形势变化的预测与判断不仅提出了三个可行的ARIMA-BP、ARIMA-RBF以及ARIMA-GRNN非线性组合模型而且进一步基于RBF,对前述三个模型再次进行非线性组合,给出了一种新的双重非线性组合趋势分析方法。实证结果表明,双重非线性组合能够较为精确地预测安全生产事故的发展趋势,可以为安全生产事故的预防、控制和应对提供管理和决策支持。     

Join the Union and Be Safe: The Effects of Unionization on Occupational Safety and Health in the European Union

This paper investigates the effect of unionization on occupational safety and health, as measured by the fatal and non‐fatal work accidents, after controlling for the country's gross domestic product. It uses a panel sample of 10 European Union countries, for the period 1982–2006. The study takes into account the time persistence in work injuries and the endogenous nature of the work injuries–union density relationship. In addition, the effect of union density is decomposed into a temporary and permanent effect. It is shown that increasing union density is associated with a decrease in the number of both fatal and non‐fatal work injuries.     

Fishermens blues: Factors related to accidents and safety among Newfoundland fishermen

The fisheries is one of the most dangerous industries in Canada. Possible contributory causes of the high rate of injuries are a fatalistic attitude to accidents and safety, and a high level of anxiety and worry among fishermen. These characteristics would be expected to lead to less attention to safety procedures and a consequent greater risk of accidents. The purpose of this study was to explore fishermen's levels of fatalism and anxiety; to consider the relationship of these factors to the frequency of accidents and extent of safety precautions; and to explore fishermen's explanations of and suggested solutions to the high rate of injuries at sea. The study was conducted among a sample of inshore fishermen who fished in the waters around Newfoundland. Fifty-five fishermen completed a questionnaire that requested basic demographic details, information on injuries obtained, safety precautions taken, perceived locus of control over accidents, anxiety, worries and explanations for accidents and possible measures to reduce them. Analysis of their replies revealed that the fishermen reported a high level of anxiety and that those who reported most anxiety reported more injuries and fewer safety precautions.     

Fishermens blues: Factors related to accidents and safety among Newfoundland fishermen

Abstract

The fisheries is one of the most dangerous industries in Canada. Possible contributory causes of the high rate of injuries are a fatalistic attitude to accidents and safety, and a high level of anxiety and worry among fishermen. These characteristics would be expected to lead to less attention to safety procedures and a consequent greater risk of accidents. The purpose of this study was to explore fishermen's levels of fatalism and anxiety; to consider the relationship of these factors to the frequency of accidents and extent of safety precautions; and to explore fishermen's explanations of and suggested solutions to the high rate of injuries at sea. The study was conducted among a sample of inshore fishermen who fished in the waters around Newfoundland. Fifty-five fishermen completed a questionnaire that requested basic demographic details, information on injuries obtained, safety precautions taken, perceived locus of control over accidents, anxiety, worries and explanations for accidents and possible measures to reduce them. Analysis of their replies revealed that the fishermen reported a high level of anxiety and that those who reported most anxiety reported more injuries and fewer safety precautions.     

Quality and environmental management practices: their linkages with safety performance

There is a widespread acknowledgement that quality and environmental practices are effective means for improving the business performance of firms. However, empirical evidence regarding the relationship between quality and environmental practices and employee safety performance is relatively scarce. In order to fill this gap, we investigate the relationship between quality and environmental practices and safety performance measured by employee accidents at work. Employing a multivariate probit model, we show that the adoption of quality management practices is associated with an increased chance that an employee encounters workplace accidents, whilst environmental practices are associated with a reduction in workplace accidents. However, when distinguishing between workplace accidents that do and do not lead to sick leave, our results reveal that the utilisation of quality practices is not associated to employees’ probability of encountering accidents that lead to sick leave. This suggests that quality practices are only related to benign accidents. Moreover, examining the interrelationships among quality practices, safety performance and quality-related contextual factors, our findings indicate that the implementation of quality practices by the firm that considers quality as very important for its strategy and provides employee’s quality-related training is not associated with safety performance. Therefore, the results suggest that the way a firm implements and uses quality practices is essential for their effect on safety performance.     

Peers,proactivity, and problem-solving: A multilevel study of team impacts on stress appraisals of problem-solving demands

ABSTRACT

To date, there is a paucity of research on team-level impacts on the individual stress appraisal process despite the recognised role of teams for solving problems. Applying a multilevel approach, this study investigates the cross-level impact of team problem prevention behaviours on employee stress appraisals of problem-solving demands. It was hypothesised that team problem prevention would moderate the individual-level relationship between problem-solving demands and stress appraisals. Data were collected from 43 work teams comprised of 192 team members including all team leaders who also provided evaluations of their team’s problem prevention behaviour. Results supported the hypothesised cross-level moderating effects on challenge appraisal, but not threat appraisal. As one of the first studies to demonstrate that stress appraisals are impacted by the group, not just by individual factors, the results support a multilevel conceptualisation of stress appraisals. The findings also highlight implications for practice, broadening the scope of possibilities for stress management interventions to utilise team-level strategies such as leadership development programmes and/or team building initiatives.     

Customer incivility and employee well-being: testing the moderating effects of meaning,perspective taking and transformational leadership

This study investigated factors that influence the relationship between experiencing customer incivility and the psychological well-being of employees in the service industry (N?=?215). Using the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, we identified and tested three factors that may buffer employees from the negative effects of customer incivility: finding meaning in work, perspective taking, and transformational leadership of supervisors. Transformational leadership was found to moderate the relationship between customer incivility and employee well-being. Meaning and perspective taking did not moderate the relationship between customer incivility and employee well-being, but did have a positive association with employee well-being. These findings contribute to the literature on customer incivility and suggest that organization-based resources that influence both primary and secondary appraisal, such as transformational leadership, are useful in buffering the harmful employee outcomes related to customer incivility.     

Individual differences in working hours, work perceptions and accident rates in veterinary surgeries

This study addresses an under-researched outcome of occupational stress, namely the frequency of accidents at work and car accidents. A large, random sample of 778 vets and their auxiliary personnel was assessed in relation to socio-demographic variables, work perception and accident involvement. The study, involving veterinary practices in Germany, revealed that work-related injuries/accidents experienced during the previous 12-month period were significantly related to individual differences in job-related stress and job satisfaction. The average yearly number of car accidents was predicted by age, working climate and job satisfaction. Furthermore, driving accidents going to or from work during the previous year were calculated against distance travelled. Vets working in excess of 48 h/week displayed significantly more driving accidents when visiting clients. Results indicate heterogeneous correlations both between and within the two categories of car and work accidents, suggesting that these are different phenomena, each with its own associated personal and work factors. Results also suggest that work perceptions may act as intermediary influences on accident rates.     

Individual differences in working hours,work perceptions and accident rates in veterinary surgeries

This study addresses an under-researched outcome of occupational stress, namely the frequency of accidents at work and car accidents. A large, random sample of 778 vets and their auxiliary personnel was assessed in relation to socio-demographic variables, work perception and accident involvement. The study, involving veterinary practices in Germany, revealed that work-related injuries/accidents experienced during the previous 12-month period were significantly related to individual differences in job-related stress and job satisfaction. The average yearly number of car accidents was predicted by age, working climate and job satisfaction. Furthermore, driving accidents going to or from work during the previous year were calculated against distance travelled. Vets working in excess of 48 h/week displayed significantly more driving accidents when visiting clients. Results indicate heterogeneous correlations both between and within the two categories of car and work accidents, suggesting that these are different phenomena, each with its own associated personal and work factors. Results also suggest that work perceptions may act as intermediary influences on accident rates.     

Psychosocial safety climate as an antecedent of work characteristics and psychological strain: A multilevel model

Abstract

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) refers to a specific organizational climate for the psychological health of workers. It is largely determined by management and at low levels is proposed as a latent pathogen for psychosocial risk factors and psychological strain. Using an extended Job Demands-Control-Support framework, we predicted the (24 month) cross-level effects of PSC on psychological strain via work conditions. We used a novel design whereby data from two unrelated samples of nurses working in remote areas were used across time (N=202, Time 1; N=163, Time 2), matched at the work unit level (N= 48). Using hierarchical linear modelling we found that unit PSC assessed by nurses predicted work conditions (workload, control, supervisor support) and psychological strain in different nurses in the same work unit 24 months later. There was evidence that the between-group relationship between unit PSC and psychological strain was mediated via Time 2 work conditions (workload, job control) as well as Time 1 emotional demands. The results support a multilevel work stress model with PSC as a plausible primary cause, or “cause of the causes”, of work-related strain. The study adds to the literature that identifies organizational contextual factors as origins of the work stress process.     

Perceived violence climate: A new construct and its relationship to workplace physical violence and verbal aggression, and their potential consequences

Workplace accidents and violence are both potential sources of employee injuries that have been dealt with in entirely separate literatures. In this study we adapted the concept of safety climate from the accident/injury literature to violence in developing the concept of perceived violence climate. A scale was developed to assess perceived violence climate, including items about management attention, concern, and policies designed to keep employees safe from violence. Data were collected from a sample of 198 nurses from a US Hospital. Perceived violence climate was found to correlate significantly with both physical violence and verbal aggression experienced by the nurses, injury from violence, and perceptions of workplace danger. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that climate explained additional variance in psychological strain and perceptions of danger over experienced violence. These results have implications for interventions aimed at producing a good perceived violence climate in order to reduce the incidence of violence and aggression within an organization.     

Perceived violence climate: A new construct and its relationship to workplace physical violence and verbal aggression,and their potential consequences

Abstract

Workplace accidents and violence are both potential sources of employee injuries that have been dealt with in entirely separate literatures. In this study we adapted the concept of safety climate from the accident/injury literature to violence in developing the concept of perceived violence climate. A scale was developed to assess perceived violence climate, including items about management attention, concern, and policies designed to keep employees safe from violence. Data were collected from a sample of 198 nurses from a US Hospital. Perceived violence climate was found to correlate significantly with both physical violence and verbal aggression experienced by the nurses, injury from violence, and perceptions of workplace danger. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that climate explained additional variance in psychological strain and perceptions of danger over experienced violence. These results have implications for interventions aimed at producing a good perceived violence climate in order to reduce the incidence of violence and aggression within an organization.     

Participatory analysis of accidents and incidents as a tool for increasing safety behaviour in fishermen. A pilot intervention study

Although occupational accidents are common in fishery, safety work is often not given priority by the fishermen. The aims of this study were to test a group-based intervention for increased activity in safety work through group discussion of accident/incident experience; to study occurred incidents/accidents and how such events were managed; and to study intervention effects on activity in safety work, risk acceptance and perceived manageability of risks. A sample of men from five crews (11 men) of Swedish fishermen participated. The study had a one group pre-test-post-test design for questionnaire data. The emphasis was on qualitative information collected during the intervention and interviews. The results indicated that accident causes could be appraised as being unmanageable even when technical solutions were possible. Psychological factors may cause incidents not to be documented or discussed. Incident experience seldom leads to preventive measures. Interaction between structural, social and psychological factors seemed to explain this. Questionnaires, observations and interview data suggested that some increase in safety work took place during the intervention. After the discussions the participants perceived risks to be less manageable. The study indicated that, although sensitive to dropout, participative safety interventions in fishery are feasible and may be effective. A longer or more intensive intervention may be necessary in order to progress from problem orientation to action orientation.     

Psychosocial factors and safety behaviour as predictors of accidental work injuries in farming

Farming is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of the incidence and seriousness of accidental injuries. Research with other occupational groups has drawn attention to the role of psychosocial factors and stress. Such research needs to be extended to agriculture. Since stress may be a problem faced by farmers, there is a particular need to investigate the associations between farm accidents and work stressors and stress reactions. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses, this study aimed to uncover the best psychosocial predictors of injury, while controlling for exposure-related confounders. From a randomly selected sample of 794 farms, 10% of all farms in Ringkoebing County, Denmark, 393 farmers completed completed weekly accident registration over 12 months. The study sample consisted of 310 farmers who also completed questionnaires on psychosocial factors. Results indicated that farm stressors (including perceived economic problems), stress symptoms, and safety behaviour were predictors of occupational farm accidents. Higher levels of stressors and stress symptoms and poor safety behaviour were all associated with an elevated risk of injury. In the case of stress symptoms, the relation with accidents occurred via an interaction with safety behaviour. The combination of high levels of stress symptoms and poor safety behaviour was associated with a particularly high accident risk.     

Causes of accidents and the time of day

Abstract

The relationship between accidents and the time of day is not entirely clear. Although there is considerable evidence that performance is poorest in the early morning hours compared to at all other times, the degree to which this is translated into accidents is not understood. In this study work-related fatal accidents were analysed to determine whether the causes of these accidents vary with time. The analysis used a classification and coding system devised to describe the wider circumstances of the causes of fatalities. In terms of absolute numbers, fatalities were most common in the late morning or early afternoon. When these results were expressed in terms of the estimated number of workers at work, the proportion of fatal accidents occurring at night was more than double that occurring during the day. Behavioural factors were the most common cause of fatalities at all times, but most common in the early hours of the morning. Further analysis of the nature of the behavioural involvement showed that errors in automatic processing (skill-based errors) were the most common types of error and did not vary much with time of day. Rule-based errors were most common during the day whereas knowledge-based errors occurred mainly in the afternoon and night shifts. These results cast some doubt on the assumption that there is a direct relationship between the previously observed variations in performance across time and the ultimate safety outcome.     

Benchmarking Safety Climate in Hazardous Environments: A Longitudinal, Interorganizational Approach

Safety climate is an important element of organizational reliability. This study applied benchmarking strategies for monitoring safety climate across nine North Sea oil and gas installations that were surveyed in consecutive years. Examination of absolute changes in safety climate complemented the benchmarking approach. Discriminant function analyses (DFA) identified the elements of safety climate predictive of self-reported accidents; correlational analyses were applied to the scale scores and accident proportions across the year period. Absolute improvements were substantial, with safety climate profiles converging in the second year. Large relative improvements were also observed. DFA highlighted perceived management commitment to safety and willingness to report accidents as significant predictors of personal accident involvement. Changes in perceived management commitment to safety were closely associated with changes in safety behavior.     

Participatory analysis of accidents and incidents as a tool for increasing safety behaviour in fishermen. A pilot intervention study

Abstract

Although occupational accidents are common in fishery, safety work is often not given priority by the fishermen. The aims of this study were to test a group-based intervention for increased activity in safety work through group discussion of accident/incident experience; to study occurred incidents/accidents and how such events were managed; and to study intervention effects on activity in safety work, risk acceptance and perceived manageability of risks. A sample of men from five crews (11 men) of Swedish fishermen participated. The study had a one group pre-test–post-test design for questionnaire data. The emphasis was on qualitative information collected during the intervention and interviews. The results indicated that accident causes could be appraised as being unmanageable even when technical solutions were possible. Psychological factors may cause incidents not to be documented or discussed. Incident experience seldom leads to preventive measures. Interaction between structural, social and psychological factors seemed to explain this. Questionnaires, observations and interview data suggested that some increase in safety work took place during the intervention. After the discussions the participants perceived risks to be less manageable. The study indicated that, although sensitive to dropout, participative safety interventions in fishery are feasible and may be effective. A longer or more intensive intervention may be necessary in order to progress from problem orientation to action orientation.     

Social support at work and its relationship to absenteeism

In this study, the impact of psychosocial work characteristics on illness and work absenteeism has been examined. The study group consisted of 133 civil servants (33 men and 100 women) with a mean age of 43 years (range 21-65 years). Psychosocial work characteristics, social support, quality of life, work absenteeism, psychosomatic and gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed by means of questionnaires. Five different work support or functions were identified by factor analysis: appraisal support, belonging support, instrumental support, emotional support and supportive atmosphere. The analysis showed that work absenteeism was associated with lower belonging support and a less supportive atmosphere. Furthermore, psychosomatic symptoms were associated with lack of support at work, measured as belonging support, instrumental support and supportive atmosphere. Gastrointestinal symptoms were associated with lack of belonging support and lack of social integration outside work. A bad general health status was associated with lack of insrumental support. The association between work absenteeism and social support at work was confirmed in multivariate analysis with control for confounding factors. In this analysis, high work strain and low social support were associated with a lower quality of life, which in turn was associated with increased absenteeism. Although there are well-known difficulties in drawing causal conclusions from cross-sectional studies, it seems reasonable to conclude that social support at work is an important factor to take into consideration when analysing illness and absenteeism from work.