Sometimes it hurts when supervisors don't listen: the antecedents and consequences of safety voice among young workers

J Occup Health Psychol. 2015 Jan;20(1):72-81. doi: 10.1037/a0037756. Epub 2014 Aug 25.

Abstract

We examined the relationship among having ideas about how to improve occupational safety, speaking up about them (safety voice), and future work-related injuries. One hundred fifty-five employed teenagers completed 3 surveys with a 1-month lag between each survey. We found that participants who were more likely to have ideas about how to improve occupational safety and had high affective commitment to the organization reported the highest level of safety voice. In turn, supervisor openness to voice moderated the relationship between safety voice and future work-related injuries. Specifically, future work-related injuries were most frequent when high levels of safety voice were combined with low supervisor openness to voice. The tested model clarifies the conditions under which workers share safety-related ideas with a supervisor and the real consequences of speaking up about them. We discuss the implications of these findings for safety management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Occupational / prevention & control
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Canada
  • Communication*
  • Employment
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Occupational Health
  • Occupational Injuries / prevention & control*
  • Safety Management*
  • Workplace / psychology
  • Young Adult