How Optimism Bias and Safety Climate Influence the Risk-Taking Behavior of Construction Workers

Abstract

Risk taking among construction workers is a critical topic in construction safety research. The aim of this study was to empirically investigate how optimism bias and safety climate influence construction worker risk-taking behavior. A survey with a designed questionnaire was conducted to collect data from construction workers. A total of 183 construction workers participated in this study and completed the designed questionnaire. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis by using structural equation modeling. Results show that optimism bias related to work risks positively influences construction worker risk-taking behavior, whereas safety climate and optimism bias related to hazard perception skills negatively affect the risk-taking behavior. These findings can enrich the literature on construction worker risk-taking behavior from the perspective of optimism bias and safety climate. Practical implications are provided for discouraging construction workers from taking risks at work.

Human Factor Analysis (HFA) Based on a Complex Network and Its Application in Gas Explosion Accidents

“…density refers to the ratio between the actual number of associations in the network and the maximum number in theory, which measures the tightness of the association between the causes of accidents in the network. The higher the value is, the closer the correlation between error causation is; alth 2022, 19, 8400 2 of 21 human safety behavior, such as job burnout [7] and the influence of safety climate on safety behavior [8,9]. (2) Quadrant 2 is quantitative studies based on existing data, which mainly analyze the frequency, main influencing factors and paths of target human errors through the study of accident cases.…”

“…Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 8400 2 of 21 human safety behavior, such as job burnout [7] and the influence of safety climate on safety behavior [8,9].…”

“…From the two dimensions of research methods and time, relevant studies were divided into four quadrants, as shown in Figure 1 , and explained as follows: Quadrant 1 is future-oriented quantitative research, mainly including safety prediction research and exploratory empirical research. This section mainly focuses on empirical research, involving empirical research on the influencing factors of human safety behavior, such as job burnout [ 7 ] and the influence of safety climate on safety behavior [ 8 , 9 ]. Quadrant 2 is quantitative studies based on existing data, which mainly analyze the frequency, main influencing factors and paths of target human errors through the study of accident cases.…”

“…Quadrant 1 is future-oriented quantitative research, mainly including safety prediction research and exploratory empirical research. This section mainly focuses on empirical research, involving empirical research on the influencing factors of human safety behavior, such as job burnout [ 7 ] and the influence of safety climate on safety behavior [ 8 , 9 ].…”

“…The other is to propose a new, more appropriate model of human error, on the basis of which other quadrant research can be carried out. human safety behavior, such as job burnout [7] and the influence of safety climate on safety behavior [8,9]. (2) Quadrant 2 is quantitative studies based on existing data, which mainly analyze the frequency, main influencing factors and paths of target human errors through the study of accident cases.…”