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A qualitative investigation of the safety culture of two organisations

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journal contribution
posted on 2008-06-01, 00:00 authored by Arlene WalkerArlene Walker
A qualitative investigation of the safety culture of two contrasting organisations was undertaken. The research sought to identify categories and themes in the data that highlighted similarities and differences in salient safety issues for employees from the two organisations. The participants were 131 employees attending safety training sessions in a large national retail organisation and a heavy manufacturing organisation. Unobtrusive observation was used to collect data during the safety training sessions. Thematic analysis was used to identify emergent categories and themes from the data. Ten broad categories with relevant themes were identified and provided some insight into the safety culture of the two organisations, with both similarities and differences being evident. Participants from both organisations mentioned management issues in relation to safety, discussed the impact of employee risk- taking behaviour on safety, made reference to a blame culture, and raised integrity issues regarding safety. For the manufacturing organisation, a number of themes focused on contractor issues, while in the retail organisation, several themes highlighted differences in safety attitudes between head office and store-level employees.

History

Journal

Journal of occupational health and safety : Australia and New Zealand

Volume

24

Issue

3

Pagination

201 - 212

Publisher

CCH Australia Ltd

Location

Sydney, N.S.W.

ISSN

0815-6409

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2008, CCH Australia

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