Two studies were conducted investigating the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and occupational safety. In Study 1, data were obtained from company human resource and safety directors across 138 organizations. LISREL VIII results showed that an HPWS was positively related to occupational safety at the organizational level. Study 2 used data from 189 front-line employees in 2 organizations. Trust in management and perceived safety climate were found to mediate the relationship between an HPWS and safety performance measured in terms of personal-safety orientation (i.e., safety knowledge, safety motivation, safety compliance, and safety initiative) and safety incidents (i.e., injuries requiring first aid and near misses). These 2 studies provide confirmation of the important role organizational factors play in ensuring worker safety.

Organizations have long focused on the human resource function. Most recently, attention has been focused on how human resource functions can add value to the organization. The potential benefits of an integrated human resource management system have been noted (O'Reilly & Pfeffer, 2000;Pfeffer, 1998aPfeffer, , 1998c, and initial research has supported these ideas (e.g., Ichniowski, Shaw, & Prennushi, 1997;Huselid, 1995). In this chapter, we focus on the extent to which "modern" human resource management practices, which focus on the recruitment, development, and management of employees (Wood & Wall, 2002), might affect occupational safety with the aim of stimulating thinking, encouraging research, and considering potential practical implications of this topic.Traditionally, occupational safety has been managed by taking a controloriented approach to human resources (Barling & Hutchinson, 2000), what Wood and Wall (2002) see as the polar opposite of a high-functioning approach to human resource management. The control orientation is based on the assumption that workers will exert only as much effort as it takes to get the job done. Thus, for employees to work effectively, it becomes necessary for 203

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The authors developed and tested a model in which children who perceive their parents to be insecure about their jobs are distracted cognitively, which in turn affects their academic performance negatively. Participants were 102 female and 18 male undergraduates (mean age = 18 years), their fathers (mean age = 49 years), and their mothers (mean age = 47 years). Students completed questionnaires measuring perceived parental job insecurity, identification with parents, and cognitive difficulties; 3 months later, they also reported their midyear grades. Fathers and mothers each completed questionnaires assessing their job insecurity. Support for the model was obtained using LISREL 8, and as predicted, children's identification with their mothers and fathers moderated the relationship between their perceptions of their mothers' and fathers' job insecurity and their own cognitive difficulties.