Safety climate as a predictor of work ability problems in blue-collar workers: prospective cohort study

Abstract

ObjectivesTo evaluate whether safety climate items would be predictive of future physical and mental work ability among blue-collar workers.MethodsBlue-collar workers (n=3822) from the Danish Work Environment and Health study replied to questions on safety climate, physical and mental work ability, and health in 2012 and 2014. Using multivariate logistic regression, we estimated the association of number of safety climate items (0–5) in 2012 with physical and mental work ability in 2014. Potential confounders included sex, age, socioeconomic class, occupational group, lifestyle (smoking habits and body mass index) and previous accidents.ResultsIn the fully adjusted model, workers reporting two and three or more safety climate problems (reference: 0) had higher risk for reduced physical work ability at follow-up (OR 1.29 [95% CI 1.03 to 1.61] and OR 1.52 [95% CI 1.27 to 1.84], respectively). Similar outcomes were observed for mental work ability. Using number of safety climate items as a continuous variable, a doseresponse association existed both for physical and mental work ability (trend-test <0.0001).ConclusionA dose–response association between the number of safety climate items at baseline and lower physical and mental work ability was detected after 2 years. Safety climate items should be highly prioritised in blue-collar companies.

Assessment of Workplace Safety Climate among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Case Study of Nigeria

“…Previous studies have established a link between safety climate items with occupational accidents, injuries, and illnesses [44][45][46]. Our study does expand on this finding and emphasizes that safety climate items can impact employees' work ability.…”

The Role of Physical Activity-Related Health Competence and Leisure-Time Physical Activity for Physical Health and Metabolic Syndrome: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach for German Office Workers

“…The differences in the connection between PAHCO and physical health could be due to work-specific factors, such as occupational sitting time [ 16 ] and mental work-related demands [ 69 ], which account for larger shares of the physical health variance in OWs compared to other occupational groups, such as blue-collar employees who perform physical and manual work (e.g., manufacturing and landscaping) [ 70 ]. In addition, Besharati et al [ 71 ] have underscored the relevance of mental work-related demands and occupational sitting time in OWs’ physical health.…”

Relationship Between National Culture Dimensions and Safety Climate in Construction Companies of Abu Dhabi

“…In addition, six questions were asked for demographic information, and a 5-point Likert scale was used to respond to the questionnaire. For the safety climate section, the NOSACQ-50-English2019 questionnaire by Brandt et al (2021) was used, which consists of 28 items across four dimensions of safety climate i.e. a) workers' safety commitment b) workers' safety priority and risk non-acceptance c) safety communication, learning, and trust in co-worker's safety competence d) trust in the efficacy of safety systems (42).…”

“…For the safety climate section, the NOSACQ-50-English2019 questionnaire by Brandt et al (2021) was used, which consists of 28 items across four dimensions of safety climate i.e. a) workers' safety commitment b) workers' safety priority and risk non-acceptance c) safety communication, learning, and trust in co-worker's safety competence d) trust in the efficacy of safety systems (42). A 4-point Likert scale was used for this section, and scores above 3.30 were considered indicative of a good level of safety climate, while scores below 2.70 were deemed to indicate a low level of safety climate, requiring significant improvement.…”