A sociotechnical systems approach to enhance safety climate in the trucking industry: Development of a methodology

The leadership challenge of increasing productivity in the workplace without increasing burnout risk

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the critical question of how to increase productivity without also increasing the burnout risk. A systems thinking framework was applied to explore individual perceptions of team dynamics and how they relate to morale, work–life balance (WLB) and hours worked.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an online survey, data from 1,222 Australian workers were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression and principal components analysis (PCA).

Findings

Self-reported productivity was found to be predicted by engagement whereas burnout and morale had minimal impact. Burnout risk was not related to hours worked but was reduced when WLB, quality work and trust is higher. Co-worker effort impacted morale and a factor labelled as team “sense of accomplishment” (SoA) was identified.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this research have limited generalisability to wider populations due to sampling methods, being conducted in the Australian context and respondents coming from a diverse range of occupations. The sample being skewed towards younger age groups and the acknowledged use of single-item measures may also restrict drawing broader conclusions from the results.

Originality/value

A socio-technical systems thinking model to diagnose the link between workplace burnout and productivity is applied. The approach involved understanding the importance of trust and how the connection between people and systems can influence morale.

Difficult Times, Difficult Decisions: Examining the Impact of Perceived Crisis Response Strategies During COVID-19

Crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require rapid action to be taken by leaders, despite minimal understanding of the impact of implemented crisis management policies and procedures in organizations. This study's purpose was to establish a greater understanding of which perceived crisis response strategies were the most beneficial or detrimental to relevant perceptions and outcomes during the recent COVID-19 crisis. Using a time-lagged study design and a sample of 454 healthcare employees, latent profile analysis was used to identify strategy profiles used by organizations based on several policy/procedure categories (i.e., human-resource supportive, human-resource disadvantaging, behavioral/interactional human safety and protection-focused, and environmental and structural safety supports-focused policies and procedures). Results indicated that four perceived crisis response strategies were employed: (1) human resource-disadvantaging, (2) maximizing, (3) safety and human resource-supportive, and (4) inactive. Perceived crisis response strategy was linked to several employee well-being (e.g., work stress) and behavioral (e.g., safety behavior) outcomes via proximal perceptions (i.e., perceived organizational support, ethical leadership, and safety climate). Proximal perceptions were the most positive for employees within organizations that enacted safety and human resource-supportive policies and procedures or that utilized a maximizing approach by implementing a wide array of crisis response policies and procedures. This paper contributes to the literature by providing crucial information needed to reduce organizational decision-making time in the event of future crises.

A macroergonomics perspective for exploring safety culture factors: a qualitative content analysis approach

Objective. Although assessing safety culture is a useful approach in reducing occupational accidents, there are no qualitative examinations of it based on a systems approach. This study was conducted with the aim of explaining the experiences of gas refinement personnel on safety issues and extending safety culture constructs using a macroergonomics approach. Methods. A directed qualitative content analysis was used. Data were collected by 18 semi-structured interviews based on a work subsystems model as a guiding framework. Results. From the interviews, 420 codes were extracted. By placing codes into subsystems, five categories in the organization subsystem, two categories in the job subsystem, one category in the human subsystem, two categories in the technology subsystem and two categories in the environment subsystem emerged. In addition to the common factors in assessment scales, factors such as work schedule, safety standards in new technologies and external factors of the organization like financial conditions were considered effective for workers' attitudes and safety behaviors. Conclusion. Investigating personnel perspectives about safety in the workplace based on a macroergonomics approach developed distinct factors in safety culture. It seems that industry features, environment and technology along with organizational factors are important in assessing safety culture.

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 organisation relative to other operational demands (e.g. productivity or efficiency). The relationships between three dimensions of employee perceptions of safety priorities (company, supervisor, worker), employee safety behaviour 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 behaviour. Furthermore, safety behaviour 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 organisational levels when trying to improve workplace safety and reduce costly injuries. Practitioner Summary: The study examined relationships between the three different organisational levels of employee perceptions of safety priorities and employee safety behaviour 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. Abbreviations: AIC: Akaike Information Criterion; BIC: Bayesian Information Criterion; CFA: confirmatory factor analysis; CFI: comparative fit index; CI: confidence interval; NAICS: the North American Industry Classification System; RMSEA: root mean square errors of approximation; SB: safety behavior; SD: standard deviation; SE: standard error; SIC: the standard industrial class; SP: safety priority.

Using a psychological contract of safety to predict safety climate on construction sites

INTRODUCTION

The fact that safety climate impacts safety behavior and delivers better safety outcomes is well established in construction. However, the way workers safety perception is inclined and developed is still unclear.

METHOD

In this research, the influence of supervisors' developing safety climate and its impact on workers' safety behavior and their conceptualization of safety is explored through the lens of the 'Psychological Contract' (PC). More specifically, it is argued that 'Psychological Contract of Safety' (PCS) is a vital factor in explaining how workers attach meaning to a supervisor behavior. Extant research suggests: (a) safety climate is based on the perception of workers regarding safety; and (b) PCS is based on perceived mutual obligations between workers and supervisors. As a result, this research argues that if PCS or mutual obligations between workers and supervisors are fulfilled, then safety climate of the workers will be positively influenced. A model is presented depicting PCS as an alternative intervention in understanding how safety climate could be influenced and predicted by the level of fulfillment of mutual safety obligations. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) the model of the PCS is validated with data collected from a mega-construction project in Australia.

RESULTS

The results suggest that to have a positive and strong safety climate, top-level managers must ensure that mutual safety obligations between supervisor and workers are fulfilled. This enables the PCS to be introduced as a new 'predictor' of safety climate. Practical applications: The novel outcome of the research could be considered as a management intervention to modify supervisors' behavior to produce better safety outcomes.

A sociotechnical systems approach to enhance safety climate in the trucking industry: Results of an in-depth investigation

The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology that extends safety climate beyond an overall score by using the framework of macroergonomics to examine the entire system in a more comprehensive manner. The study is discussed in two papers: one paper describes the study methodology in detail (Murphy, Robertson, Huang, Jeffries, & Dainoff, in press), and the current paper describes the results of the study. Multiple methods were combined to create a systems approach, and those methods include the critical incident technique, contextual inquiries with functional role diagrams, and affinity mapping. Key informants in the trucking industry identified 19 themes that affect safety. The themes ranged from balancing work and family/personal time, the company's policy vs. practice, respecting the job of the driver, and active listening and meaningful feedback. The most prominent themes were related to the workers and their activities; the internal environment, including psychosocial job design elements; and organizational design. Such information can be used to design interventions to change the safety climate of an organization in order to reduce negative safety outcomes.