Do the perceptions of workers have any impact on the organization’s actual health and safety performance? Last week, I discussed a study from Purdue University addressing that issue. Let’s now look at the results of that study.

The Study’s Results

Of 3,116 surveys distributed to workers, the company got 1,414 responses. (The surveys were supposed to be distributed during safety meetings where workers could complete them on company time. But at some locations, supervisors handed them out at the end or beginning of the shift and simply asked workers to complete and return the survey. As a result, the response rate was lower than expected.) The researcher analyzed these results and compared them to a database of more than 50,000 surveys previously administered at other industrial companies. He also analyzed the responses to specific questions in each factor to identify areas of strength and weakness. The results:

Overall result. As the chart below indicates, workers had an overall positive view of the company and its OHS program, with 79% of the total responses in the seven areas measured being positive. In addition, the company’s overall results were above the norm established by the information from the database, indicating that workers’ perception of the company’s OHS program and safety culture was better than that of workers in other companies.

Area of strength. Workers’ perception of the safety supervisory process was an area of significant strength. The results suggest that the company has reasonable and fair rules and enforcement and effectively communicated the consequences of safety infractions.

Areas of weakness. Within factor one (management commitment to safety), the weakest worker perception was of management’s safety leadership. Interviews of workers bolstered the survey responses in which workers expressed concern or scepticism over management’s long-term commitment to safety. In addition, the responses on emergency preparedness and off-the-job safety were strongly negative as compared to the norm. Other areas of weakness:

• Communication of operational safety issues;
• Exposure monitoring; and
• Effectiveness of the drug and alcohol policy (note, however, that the policy had only been in effect for a year at the time of the survey).

Bottom line: Workers perceived a positive change in management’s approach to safety but weren’t yet convinced that this change was both meaningful and lasting. Did this change in workers’ perceptions impact the company’s injury rates? After management changed its approach to safety, the company’s lost time injury rate showed a statistically significant decrease. The company planned to make additional changes to its OHS program based on the survey results and to conduct another survey in three years to measure the company’s progress.

Conclusion

The Purdue study shows that where management’s commitment to safety is clearly demonstrated through action, workers’ perception of the OHS program is positively influenced. Along with this change in perception, there also appears to be a strong causal relationship to the reduction in injury rates.

Senior management may think that your company has got the most effective and comprehensive OHS program possible. But if workers don’t believe in that program and the motives behind it, it isn’t as strong or effective as they think. Safety perception surveys can help you analyze what workers really think about your OHS program, the company’s safety culture and senior management’s commitment to safety. Yes, the results may reveal problems you didn’t know you had. But knowledge is power. It’s better to get honest feedback from workers and then take steps to address their concerns than to go along in ignorance until a major safety incident reveals these concerns anyway—and that’s exactly what’s likely to happen.

Source: “The relationship between employees’ perceptions of safety and organizational culture,” O’Toole, Purdue University Calumet, Journal of Safety Research, 33 (2002) 231-243.

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