A method for changing the attitudes and behaviour of management and employees to stimulate the implementation of ergonomic improvements

Assessing attitudes and beliefs using the stage of change paradigm—case study of health and safety appraisal within a manufacturing company

“…Previous research (Urlings et al, 1990;DeJoy, 1996;Haslam and Haslam, 2000;Prochaska et al, 2001;Haslam, 2002) proposed that successful intervention into organisations requires formal consideration of individuals' attitudes and beliefs such that intervention can be targeted accordingly. Building on these proposals, this study has used a practical example of ergonomics appraisal (concerning health and safety issues within a manufacturing company) to illustrate how a stage-targeted approach (i.e.…”

“…Urlings et al (1990) developed a staged approach aimed at changing attitudes and behaviour within organisations via provision of information. Derived from a model by Kok et al (1987), the model proposed by Urlings et al is based upon social psychology and communication theory.…”

“…An important predecessor to the models proposed by Urlings et al (1990) and DeJoy (1996) is the stage of change framework developed by Prochaska and DiClemente (1982). Prochaska and DiClemente's (1982) paradigm was selected for further attention due to its simplicity, wide usage and successful application in the public health domain Haslam, 2002;Prochaska et al, 1994).…”

“…This is based on the notion that organisational interventions which take no formal consideration of readiness to change are likely to fail due to lack of commitment and understanding from stakeholders. In this respect, it has been suggested that ergonomics might learn from the models and theories which exist in relation to changing public healthrelated behaviour within the community (Urlings et al, 1990;DeJoy, 1996;Haslam and Haslam, 2000;Prochaska et al, 2001;Haslam, 2002). For the purposes of this paper, the term 'interventions' refers to alterations or changes to equipment, task requirements, work environment or organisational structure.…”

The implementation of ergonomics advice and the stage of change approach

“…Various methods have been proposed to improve the implementation and effectiveness of ergonomics advice according to behaviour change principles (DeJoy, 1996;Haslam, 2002;Urlings et al, 1990). The most frequently applied of the behaviour change methods in workplace settings has been Prochaska and DiClemente's Stage of Change (SOC) framework (Barrett et al, 2005;Prochaska et al, 2001;Village and Ostry, 2010;Whysall et al, 2006aWhysall et al, , 2006b in which readiness to change is assessed using a short series of closed questions after which they are assigned to one of five stages:…”