Occupational Safety Climate and Hazards in the Industrial Sector: Gender Differences Perspective, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BackgroundOccupational Health and Safety (OHS) has become a growing public health concern worldwide. A considerable body of literature has been generated around the theme of safety climate perceptions and occupational hazards, as many researchers have examined perceptions of the occupational safety climate in relation to organizational hierarchy. But there is an urgent need to address safety problems associated with gender differences, especially in Saudi Arabia, where women have only recently begun to work in the industrial field. Therefore, this study aims to assess workers' perceptions of the safety climate and OHS hazards and identify gender differences among workers.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out, using the Nordic Occupational Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) to assess seven dimensions of safety climate perception and a standardized structured questionnaire adapted from the National Institute of Occupational Health to assess occupational hazards.ResultsThe results indicated that respondents perceived only one dimension of their relevant occupational safety climates positively. “Peer safety communication, learning, and trust in co-workers”. Workers experienced a range of different occupational hazards in factories, with noise being the most common. There were significant differences (<0.05) between females and males in the areas of safety priority and risk non-acceptance. Women were more likely to experience ergonomic problems than their male counterparts.ConclusionThe present study concludes that industries need to comply with national and international OHS standards and rules, especially related to gender perspectives and hazards, as well as provide proper occupational health services in their factories.

All Aboard: Gender Diversity and Safety Culture on the Track

“…Consistent with previous research, our study showed that managers tended to perceive safety culture more positively than craft employees ( 9 – 11 ). Our research, however, was not able to fully support the seemingly consistent, yet limited research related to gender differences in safety culture perceptions ( 14 – 17 ). In our sample, male and female railroaders tended to have similar overall safety culture perceptions; that is, until we took management status into account.…”

“…Finally, work has examined how gender affects specific safety culture dimensions ( 14 ). In a sample of workers from five Saudi Arabian factories, gender differences were revealed on dimensions related to commitment to safety, prioritizing safety and caution, such that women tended to have higher scores than men.…”

“…In a sample of workers from five Saudi Arabian factories, gender differences were revealed on dimensions related to commitment to safety, prioritizing safety and caution, such that women tended to have higher scores than men. In Saudi Arabia, however, the authors stressed that labor laws limit women’s involvement in higher-risk environments; as such, the women sampled were mainly employed in industries that were considered lower-risk (i.e., food processing) ( 14 ). They also reported, however, that despite this caveat, the types of occupational health problems men and women experienced as a result of on-the-job hazards differed; specifically, women were more susceptible to ergonomic problems than men.…”

“…This variation has often been explained by differences in daily work demands and experiences ( 12 , 13 ). There is also some limited evidence to suggest that women tend to have more positive safety culture perceptions than men ( 14 – 17 ). This variation has been suggested to stem from gender differences in sensitivity to safety issues and risk aversion ( 15 , 18 ), and in the types of jobs men and women tend to assume ( 16 , 19 ).…”

Ansiedade Face À Morte E Clima De Segurança Física Como Preditores Da Paixão Pelo Trabalho: O Efeito Da Perceção De Risco

“…Aumentar a amostra e diversificá-la a nível nacional, uma vez que a recolha desta amostra seguiu uma metodologia de bola de neve, restringido-se mais à zona do Algarve, seria interessante para observar possíveis diferenças regionais e culturais, já que a ansiedade face à morte e o clima de segurança estão relacionados com fatores culturas (Arooj et al, 2022;Cicirelli, 2002). A maioria dos resultados obtidos pertencem ao género feminino, seria pertinente obter uma amostra mais homogénea, uma vez que estudos anteriores mostraram um traço de ansiedade mais alto para o género feminino (e.g., Fitri et al, 2020;Martínez-López et al, 2021) diferença esta também verificada para o clima de segurança e aceitação de risco (AlMousa et al, 2022).…”