Examining Significant Factors Influencing Workers' Safety Behavior in Project Work Environments

Purpose Construction accidents pose a persistent challenge, with workers’ safety behaviors critical to prevention. Although project managers are key decision-makers in fostering safety, the mechanisms through which they influence workers’ safety behaviors via site supervisors remain underexplored. To address this gap, this study introduces the concept of Project Manager-driven (PMd) safety climate, defined as shared safety perceptions shaped by project managers’ policies and attitudes. By examining its impact on supervisors’ safety motivation and intervention practices, and subsequently on workers’ safety behaviors, this research establishes a novel multilevel framework for safety management. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey was conducted at 53 construction sites, collecting data from 256 site supervisors and 1,026 construction workers. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data from both the supervisors and the workers. Findings The findings reveal that the PMd safety climate is significantly associated with supervisors’ safety motivation and the implementation of safety interventions. Moreover, safety interventions are positively associated with construction workers’ safety motivation and safety behaviors. Safety motivation serves as a mediating factor between the PMd safety climate and the safety interventions implemented by supervisors, as well as between the safety interventions and the safety behaviors demonstrated by workers. The emphasis placed by project managers on safety plays a pivotal role in fostering the safety behaviors of construction workers. Furthermore, the implementation of safety intervention measures by site supervisors serves as a crucial conduit for effectively conveying safety concepts to frontline workers. Originality/value The concept of the PMd safety climate is introduced for the first time, providing a novel perspective for assessing the importance project managers place on safety. Additionally, a multi-level model of influence on workers’ safety behavior was established for construction sites, outlining a hierarchy from project managers to site supervisors and then to construction workers, thus providing a reference framework for on-site safety management practices.

There is an increased risk of workplace accidents for younger employees. Academic laboratories have demonstrated a higher prevalence of accidents. Occupational health and safety (OHS) education plays a central role in reducing the risk of accidents and aims to habituate safety behavior in educational settings. The current research aims to investigate the factors affecting students’ safety behaviors using a knowledge-attitude-behavior model within stimulus-organism-response frameworks. A quantitative and non-experimental study involved sending an electronic questionnaire to 959 Indonesian vocational high school students who had undergone half of their learning process in a workshop that put them at risk of accidents. A structural equation model was conducted on the data which showed that all variables in the model were valid and reliable. Teachers’ OHS leadership encourages students’ safety knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. Positive and noteworthy benefits to students' safety knowledge, attitude and behaviour are demonstrated by peer safety behaviours as indicated by similar results. Among the predictors, OHS knowledge had the greatest influence on students’ safety behavior. The current research findings provide evidence that supports the fact that student safety behavior follows the knowledge attitude behaviour model within the stimulus organism response framework.

Importance and performance in PLS-SEM and NCA: Introducing the combined importance-performance map analysis (cIPMA)

The determinants of passengers' safety behaviour on public transport

In recent years, Sri Lanka’s construction industry has seen a troubling increase in both fatal and non-fatal accidents, largely attributed to insufficient safety knowledge among workers and deficiencies in the health and safety system. To mitigate these accidents, effective occupational health and safety training is imperative. However, the efficacy of traditional safety training methods has been questioned due to their limited impact on workers’ ability to identify and assess risks critically. The lack of experiential training is the primary cause of accidents that could have been easily avoided at construction sites in Sri Lanka. Addressing this gap, there is growing interest in utilising Virtual Reality (VR) as a powerful tool for experiential safety training in the construction sector. VR offer a realistic and safe environment where workers can engage with various scenarios and procedures, enhancing their understanding and awareness of safety protocols. This research explores the effectiveness of VR tools in enhancing safety knowledge and awareness among construction workers through a simulation safety training platform, using VR and PowerPoint methods for data collection. An experiment was conducted with VR and PowerPoint safety training methods as a data collection method. A questionnaire survey was conducted to compare conventional training methods with the VR solution. The results indicate that workers trained in VR environments had better retention of critical information, highlighting the efficiency of VR in providing a safe yet realistic training experience. This research emphasises the potential advantages of the suggested VR safety training methods in improving construction safety knowledge and awareness of construction workers.

Enhancing Workplace Well-being: Unveiling the Dynamics of Leader–Member Exchange and Worker Safety Behavior Through Psychological Safety and Job Satisfaction

In recent years, global events have redefined working life, stimulating new organizational models. This work focuses on job crafting, which is considered the way to improve the relationship between some organizational variables and other individual variables such as organizational identification and satisfaction with communication, both of which are crucial to achieving sustainable levels of well-being. The study examines the role of latent constructs that can promote adaptive responses as well as their relations. In particular, we focus on organizational identification in promoting adaptive responses, including the increase in structural resources, the increase in challenging demands, and the increase in social resources as adaptive strategies to improve satisfaction with communication. The analysis is carried out using robust statistical techniques that are suited to the study of causal relations between abstract constructs. Specifically, after Confirmatory Composite Analysis (CCA-PLS) to evaluate the quality of the data collected, a higher order mediation model, based on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), was performed to test the mediation role of the job crafting. In addition, we prioritize such latent constructs using importance–performance map analysis (IPMA) to evaluate the relevance and performance of each construct of this model. The results show a relationship between organizational identification, corresponding to a high sense of belonging, and communication satisfaction at all levels through the mediation of job crafting.

The adoption of fintech services has been a focal point of discussion among academicians, financial institutions and policymakers due to its role in augmenting financial inclusion and sustainable development. Ergo, the study aims to examine the influence of consumer digital awareness, consumer digital financial literacy and consumer digital engagement on the adoption of fintech services. Additionally, the study investigates the mediating effect of consumer empowerment between consumer digital awareness, consumer digital financial literacy, consumer digital engagement and the adoption of fintech services. The primary data are obtained from consumers in the Northern Indian region using a structured questionnaire and purposive sampling. The study utilizes partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and importance–performance map analysis to achieve its objectives. The study’s results indicate that consumer digital awareness is the most significant predictor, followed by consumer empowerment, consumer digital engagement and consumer digital financial literacy. Moreover, consumer empowerment establishes complementary partial mediation between consumer digital awareness, consumer digital financial literacy, consumer digital engagement and the adoption of fintech services. The study’s findings can be utilized in framing policies to augment the adoption of fintech services, which would be helpful in deepening financial inclusion and sustainable development.

Structural equation model of integrated safety intervention practices affecting the safety behaviour of workers in the construction industry

Safety climate and safety behavior has an essential contribution to safety in all forms of the organizations. This research aimed to measure the impact of safety climate on safety behavior on bus rapid transit drivers in Jakarta. Bus rapid transit accident occurred inside and outside the bus lane. The incidence of the accident indicates that the risk is real. The measurement of the safety climate was using Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50). The NOSACQ-50 was adapted to fit the characteristics of transportation object. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 bus rapid transit drivers in Jakarta. Structural Equation Modelling – Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) method was used to determine the influence safety climate to safety behavior among bus rapid transit drivers. The testing on the outer and inner model was conducted by bootstrapping and blindfolding process using Smart PLS software on the significance level of 0.05. The results of the study are that the workers’ safety commitment and safety communication, learning, and trust in co-workers’ safety competence had a positive and significant influence on safety behavior.

PurposeSafety science research has largely focused on areas such as oil and gas, mining and construction, with a paucity of research in the agricultural sector which constitutes over 60% of the workforce in Ghana. This paper investigated the extent to which religiosity of rice farm workers predicts their safety performance through safety behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from 469 respondents, comprising 347 males and 122 females from three large rice irrigation schemes in southern Ghana in a cross-sectional survey, and analysed the data with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).FindingsReligiosity had a moderate positive direct relationship with safety behaviour, while safety behaviour had a very weak relationship with safety performance. Also, safety behaviour played a competitive partial mediating role in the relationship between religiosity and safety performance.Practical implicationsThe findings led to the conclusion that religiosity is an essential direct antecedent of safety behaviour at work and an indirect antecedent of safety performance. Accordingly, the authors recommend that safety practitioners, managers and supervisors put mechanisms in place to cautiously encourage optional religious programmes that would enable organisational members to get a deeper understanding and knowledge of their religion and promote religious freedom and diversity at the workplace.Originality/valueThis paper has contributed to the debate on the relevance of religiosity at work and occupational safety and health promotion in the African context. This seems to be the only study in Ghana that has investigated how religiosity relates to safety behaviour in production agriculture, specifically, rice farming. Another contribution of this study is the evidence supporting the mediating role of safety behaviour in the relationship between religiosity and safety performance.

The aim of this study was to assess the level of food safety practice, knowledge, behavior and awareness among n = 205 Trinidadian students (mean age 18±) enrolled within the education system in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies and to explore the association between these variables and the demographic and educational characteristics. To address these concerns, participants enrolled within the secondary (high school) and tertiary (university) institutions in Trinidad were questioned (16 questions) on food buying habits, preparation, attitudes, behaviors, knowledge and awareness. The data were analyzed using SPSS for descriptive, frequency distribution and percentages. Pearson chi square tested the association between food safety behaviors and awareness in relation to gender, age and educational level. Findings indicated that 76%of the students “always” washed their hands after touching raw chicken/meats and fish, while 50% utilized separate cutting boards/knives for raw chicken/meat and fish. Many students (68%) believed that it was “very safe” to only rinse cutting boards used for raw chicken/meat and fish. Others (10%) believed it was “very safe” to defrost foods outside the refrigerator, and 25% reported that it was “safe” to leave hot foods at room temperature for more than four hours. The level of food safety practice and behavior was higher (p < 0.05) among the female students at the secondary school level than those at the tertiary level. There was no difference in the median (20/45) and mode (25/45) scores for food safety behavior between the two educational groups but the difference (p < 0.01) was significant for awareness. Food safety practice, behavior and awareness skills of males at the secondary level were significantly lower (p < 0.01) than the females. These results strengthen the need for continuous educational programs to improve food safety awareness skills of Trinidadian students.

Critical factors for the use or non-use of personal protective equipment amongst construction workers

Factors affect companies’ safety performance in Jordan using structural equation modeling

PurposeThis study aims to show what interventions in human factors can effectively reduce construction workers' unsafe behavior.Design/methodology/approachA diagnostic intervention model targeted the construction workers' weakest internal factors. The workers' behavior and cognition data were collected via a questionnaire and a video camera system from two medium-sized construction sites. A safety supervisor accompanied each site supervisor to improve construction workers' internal factors by implementing the designed intervention measures.FindingsThe statistical analysis results confirmed a persistent positive effect on construction workers' safe behavior by improving internal factors. Among the intervention programs applied, those aimed to improve the subjective norms, safety knowledge and attitudes had the most significant effect sizes.Practical implicationsThe findings of this case study advise project managers to design a specific behavioral intervention that aims at improving construction workers' significant internal factors, including subjective norms, safety attitudes, habits and knowledge together with demographic characteristics to reduce construction workers' unsafe behavior.Originality/valueWhile the declining rate of construction accidents approaches an asymptote which is still high, this study suggests that targeting the individual internal factors through diagnostic interventions is the key to further reduce the rate by improving construction workers' behavior.