The motivation of operatives in small construction firms towards health and safety – A conceptual framework

Abstract

PurposeHealth and safety in small construction firms is often neglected by owners leading to poor health and safety performance and unacceptably high fatality and injury rates. A body of knowledge has established significant links between the motivational behaviours of operatives towards health and safety. Motivation is also considered as a key tool for improving operative productivity as when operatives experience safe worksites, they can carry out their work in a more productive manner. The purpose of this research is to develop a framework to examine the motivational factors that affect operative health and safety in small construction firms.Design/methodology/approachA critical review and synthesis of the body of knowledge incorporating motivational theory, health and safety literature and the factors which characterise small firms, is used to develop the framework.FindingsKey components of the framework include the presence of intrinsic and extrinsic components, appropriate health and safety policies and procedures, the type of work environment, the operatives (i.e. attitude, experience and training) as well as the presence of appropriate management and supervision. The study revealed that operatives in small firms are less likely to be extrinsically motivated due to the absence of training, management commitment, policies and the wider working environmentResearch limitations/implicationsFailure of motivational support can result in increased danger and risk in exposing operatives to injury in the small firm environment. In this context, the damage caused to operative's health and safety in small construction firms is dependent mainly on the extrinsic factors.Practical implicationsThe framework provides a basis for improving our understanding of how to motivate operatives to act safely and will help to improve the health and safety performance of small firms. It is therefore vital to emphasise enhancement efforts on these extrinsic strategies in the small firms' environment especially in the initial stages of the project (or activity), so that the health and safety of operatives in small firms can be improved.Originality/valueThis study proposes a contribution in developing an understanding of the motivational factors and their influence on the health and safety of operatives in small construction firms. The study revealed that operatives in small firms are less likely to be extrinsically motivated and have only intrinsically motivated elements in their workplace. The study proposes an indirect link between the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect motivation.

Green Construction Practices: Ensuring Client Satisfaction Through Health and Safety Performance

“…These bene ts include cost savings resulting from fewer accidents and legal disputes, and increased project quality (Howarth & Watson, 2010), which could partly lead to CS. Also, the positive signi cant mediating effect observed in this study could be due to the improvement in HSP in projects adopting GCPs as reported by Khan et al (2021). Furthermore, they may have been a change in the way GCPs are been adopted as the adoption of the "prevention through design concept" has become increasingly popular (Zhou et al, 2015).…”

“…As such, many green building rating tools such as LEED have included credits for the prevention of safety issues through design (Karakhan & Gambatese, 2017). In view of the increased quest and measures taken towards HSP in projects that adopt GCPs, Khan et al (2021) report that there has been signi cant improvement in the HSP during CCP adoption. Yusliza et al (2020) report that CCP are largely expected to lead to HSP.…”

Sistemas de gestión de seguridad y salud en el trabajo como herramienta de prevención de riesgos laborales en las pymes

“…Los factores que impactan en la seguridad y salud en el trabajo son: la informalidad, las regulaciones sobre el embarazo de mujeres, nuevas tecnologías, nuevos tipos de trabajo, incluido el teletrabajo, envejecimiento de la población [24]. Otros factores que considera [25] son extrínsecos como: la formación, las condiciones de trabajo, el compromiso de la dirección, el sistema de gestión de SST con sus políticas y procedimientos de seguridad y salud; o intrínsecos de las personas como son: factores psicológicos, comportamiento, actitudes y satisfacción. Estos son parte integral cuando se abordan los sistemas de gestión de seguridad y salud en el trabajo La cultura organizacional en los sistemas de gestión tiene una estrecha relación con los principios de calidad como son el liderazgo, compromiso de las personas y mejora continua; por lo cual, el componente humano es un factor clave en la aplicación de las normas ISO u otros estándares de gestión de la SST.…”

Nurses' motivation in cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A cross-sectional study

“…According to studies, motivation contributes not only to competence and endurance in CPR but also to appropriate interventions and effective CPR [16][17][18]. High-quality CPR improves patient survival [19], and work motivation leads to high-quality performance and better clinical outcomes [20,21]. The assumption that motivation affects rescuers' performance and CPR outcomes suggests that the selection of highmotivation rescuers for CPR is necessary [18,22].…”