Safety and Organisations

Facilitator
Dr Nik Chmiel

Who should attend
Those who want to gain knowledge of current theoretical approaches to understanding safety behaviours and accidents at work. A background in data analytic techniques would be desirable, but not essential.

Masterclass overview
This masterclass considers broad approaches to understanding safety in organisations from a psychological perspective within the context of existing legislation and the challenges posed by the changing nature of work. Managerial approaches to safety will be contrasted with those from an engineering perspective. Through analyses of accidents the idea of a ‘safe’ organisation will be explored. The influence of management attitudes, values, and actions will be analysed in relation to their effect on workforce behaviour and safety-related activity. The influence on safety of others in an organisation such as supervisors and co-workers will be explored also. A number of theoretical concepts underpin the masterclass, including accident exposure, cognitive error, violations, safety climate, psychological climate, role theory, and motivation. The masterclass will explore what kind of place these ideas have in understanding how organisations can manage safety. The masterclass will enable the exchange of expertise between participants through interactive sessions.

Aims of the masterclass

• To consider current legislative approaches to safety at work.
• To provide psychological perspectives on safety behaviour at work.
• To bring participants up to date on managerial influences on safety outcomes such as accidents, near misses, and speaking out on safety issues.
• To explore what a ‘safe’ organisation is.
• To consider the role of accident exposure in interpreting accident figures.
• To consider whether organisational and work design practices impact safety.

• Participants will be able to appreciate a variety of theoretical relationships between organisational and psychological influences on safety behaviours and accident outcomes.
• Participants will have information to enable a critique of safety measures within organisations from a psychological perspective.

Psychological theory underpinning the masterclass
Barling, J., Loughlin, C., & Kelloway, E.K. (2002). Development and Test of a Model Linking Safety Specific Transformational Leadership and Occupational Safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 488-496.

Chmiel, N. (2005). Promoting healthy work: Self-reported minor injuries, work characteristics, and safety behaviour. In C. Korunka & P. Hoffman (Eds.) Change and Quality in Human Service Work. Munchen and Mering: Rainer Hampp Verlag.

Guldenmund, F.W. (2000). The nature of safety culture: a review of theory and research. Safety Science, 34, 215-257.

Hofmann, D.A., Jacobs, R., & Landy, F. (1995). High reliability process industries: individual micro, and macro organisational influences on safety performance. Journal of Safety Research, 26, 131-149.

Kaminski, M. (2001). Unintended Consequences: Organisational Practices and Their Impact on Workplace Safety and Productivity. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6, 127-138.

Reason, J.T. (1990). Human Error. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shannon, H.S., Mayr, J., and Haines, T. (1997). Overview of the relationship between organisational and workplace factors and injury rates. Safety Science, 26, 201-217.

Turner, N., Chmiel, N., and Walls, M. (2005). Railing for Safety: Job Demands, Job Control, and Safety Citizenship Role Definitions. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10, 504-512.

Vredenburgh, A.G. (2002). Organisational Safety: Which management practices are most effective in reducing employee injury rates? Journal of Safety Research, 33, 259-276.

Wagenaar, W.A., Groeneweg, J., Hudson, P.T.W., and Reason, J.T. (1994). Promoting safety in the oil industry. Ergonomics, 37, 1999-2013.

Zacharatos, A., Barling, J., and Iverson, R.D. (2005). High-Performance Work Systems and Occupational Safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 77-93.

Zohar, D. (1980). Safety climate in industrial organisations: Theoretical and applied implications. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 96-102.

Zohar, D., and Luria, G. (2005). A Multilevel Model of Safety Climate: Cross-Level Relationships Between Organisational and Group-Level Climates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 616-628.

Pre/post work required
N/A

Date and venue
31 October 2007, 9.30 - 17.00
The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG

Facilitator details
Nik Chmiel is Director of Occupational Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast and President of the European Association of Work and Organisational Psychology. His research interests focus on safety at work and his practical interests lie in advising organisations on workforce perceptions, attitudes values and behaviours in relation to company policies, procedures, goals, personnel and performance.