The role of employee perceptions of safety priorities on safety outcomes across organisational levels

Research has shown that safety climate predicts safety outcomes in various occupational settings. One important component of safety climate is employees' perceived priorities of safety in an organization relative to other operational demands (e.g., productivity or efficiency). The relationships between three dimensions of employee perceptions of safety priorities (company, supervisor, and worker) and employee safety behavior and self-reported injury outcomes were examined in the current study. Survey data were collected from 858 field workers (a response rate of 89%) at a TV-cable installation company. Results showed that all three dimensions of employee perceptions of safety priorities had significant and unique positive relationships with employee safety behavior. Furthermore, safety behavior was a significant mediator of the relationship between the three types of perceived safety priorities and missed work days due to workplace injury. The results showed the value of addressing employee perceptions of safety priorities across organizational levels when trying to improve workplace safety and reduce costly injuries. Practitioner summary: The study examined relationships between the three different organizational levels of employee perceptions of safety priorities and employee safety behavior and injury outcomes. The results demonstrated the value of addressing employee perceptions of safety priorities held by different levels of management as well as the worker level to improve workplace safety and reduce costly injuries.