Safety Doesn’t Happen by Accident: A Longitudinal Investigation on the Antecedents of Safety Behavior

Greta Mazzetti, Emanuela Valente, Dina Guglielmi and Michela Vignoli
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Greta Mazzetti: Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Emanuela Valente: Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Dina Guglielmi: Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Michela Vignoli: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Research recognizes the shared perceptions of the priority attributed to safety in comparison to other organizational goals (i.e., safety climate) as a potential antecedent of safety behavior among construction workers. This type of climate can dismantle barriers to the promotion of effective strategies to mitigate workplace hazards. On the other hand, the current understanding of the underlying process that links the perception of a safety climate to the implementation of safety behavior is far from being exhaustive. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the role of risk perception and safety knowledge in explaining the positive impact of safety climate before attending a training course (Time 0) and safety behavior after the training completion (Time 1). Data were collected at two time-points on a sample of N = 278 construction workers taking part in different safety training courses promoted by a vocational training organization in Northern Italy. The hypothesized relationships were tested using a serial mediation model bootstrapping approach. The obtained results indicated that the perception of a safety climate at Time 0 (T0) among construction workers is associated with higher risk perception and safety knowledge that, in turn, resulted in a higher implementation of safety behavior at Time 1 (T1). These findings contribute to the understanding of those factors that constitute a fertile ground for preventing injuries and accidents in the construction sector.

Keywords: safety behavior; safety climate; risk perception; construction worker; safety knowledge (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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