Individual and Organizational Factors of Safe Behaviour among Ghanaian Industrial Workers

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare individual and organizational factors as predictors of accident frequency. Four hypotheses based on the literature were presented: 1) both individual and organizational factors contribute to accident frequency, 2) individual factors have more impact than organizational factors, 3) both Organizational citizenship behaviour and Perceived organizational support are positively associated with safety behaviour, and 4) among the four organizational factors, Perceived organisational support has the most impact. The participants were 320 Ghanaian industrial workers from textile factories, breweries and mines. Organizational safety climate was measured using the 50-item Workplace Safety Scale. Organizational citizenship behaviour, Perceived organizational support and job satisfaction were measured by standardised scales. Individual factors were gender, age, education, marital status and job tenure. The respondents reported their accidents during the past 12 months. Models were tested using Structural Equation Modelling: Both individual and organizational factors contributed to accident frequency supporting hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 2 was rejected as organizational factors were more strongly related to accident frequency than individual factors. Organizational citizenship behaviour and Perceived organizational support were positively associated with safety performances as Hypothesis 3 suggested. In line with Hypothesis 4 the strongest predictor of safety behaviour was Perceived organizational support. This study showed that both individual and organizational factors are contributory for accident process. However, the influence of organizational factors was stronger than that of individual factors. Implications for safety in Ghanaian organizations were discussed.

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