Behavioral Self-Monitoring of Safety and Productivity in the Workplace: A Methodological Primer and Quantitative Literature Review

Workplace applications of behavioral self-monitoring (BSM) methods have been studied periodically for over 35 years, yet the literature has never been systematically reviewed. Recent occupational safety interventions including BSM resulted in relatively large behavior changes. Moreover, BSM methods are functional for addressing a broad range of occupational health psychology topics. Studies (n = 24) where workers self-monitored productivity or safety behaviors were reviewed and scored along dimensions relevant to research and practice. For intervention conditions (n = 38), standardized effect sizes ranged from 0.2 to 14.5 (weighted average d = 2.8). The results encourage the use of BSM in workplace interventions, but the literature has insufficiently addressed the isolated and additive effects of BSM, worker involvement and individual differences, assessment applications, and theory testing and development.