Risk compensation? The relationship between helmet use and cycling speed under naturalistic conditions

Introduction: An argument against mandatory helmet use is based on the idea of risk compensation, which means that cyclists might ride faster when wearing a helmet (Lardelli-Claret et al., 2003). However, questionnaire and experimental studies were unable to find evidence for this assumption (Fyhri et al., 2012; Fyhri & Philipps, 2013). Simultaneously, other factors with a potential role in helmet use and cycling speed, such as trip length and rider characteristics have been neglected in such considerations. The goal of the analysis presented in this paper was therefore to investigate the relationship between helmet use and cycling speed under naturalistic conditions while taking characteristics of cyclists and bicycles into account. Method: As part of a naturalistic cycling study, we equipped the bicycles of conventional and e-bike riders with data acquisition systems to record speed and trip distance. It included two cameras (one for the face of the participant, another one for the forward scenery). For the analysis presented in this paper, we used the data of 76 participants (28 conventional bicycles, 48 e-bikes). Results: In total, participants used their helmet for 56% of all trips. Helmets were used more frequently for longer trips. A linear mixed model, in which trip length, helmet use, bicycle type, age, and gender were used as predictors showed that helmet use did not play a significant role for cycling speed. Instead, all other factors that were analyzed, with the exception of gender, had a significant relationship to cycling speed. Discussion: The assumption of risk compensation as a result of the use of a helmet could not be confirmed. Instead, the findings seem to support the suggestion that cyclists who undertake trips at potentially higher speed levels are aware of their increased risk, and actively try to reduce it through the use of a helmet.     

Abusive according to whom? Manager and subordinate perceptions of abusive supervision and supervisors' performance

Recognizing that supervisor–subordinate dyads exist within a broader organizational hierarchy, we examine how the individual's role within the organizational hierarchy influences perceptions of abusive supervision. Specifically, we examine how supervisors' abusive behaviors are perceived by abusive supervisors' managers as well as abusive supervisors' subordinates. Drawing on role theory, we propose that these perceptions will differ. Further, we suggest that these differences will be reflected in different relationships between manager-rated abusive supervision and subordinate-rated abusive supervision and managers' evaluations of supervisor performance. Results from manager–supervisor–subordinate triads indicate differences between managers' and subordinates' view of abusive supervision. Further, managers' perceptions of abuse were related to supervisors' in-role performance, whereas subordinates' perceptions of abuse were related to workgroup performance. In Study 2, we replicate these findings and expand our investigation to an examination of supervisors' contextual performance. Additionally, we examine another contextual characteristic—aggressive climate—and demonstrate it influences how abusive supervision relates to managerial evaluations of supervisor performance. Future research and managerial implications are discussed.     

Is career management related to employee development and performance?

The career management process involves career exploration, development of career goals, and use of career strategies to obtain career goals. The relationship between different aspects of the career management process and employee development behavior and performance was examined in this study. Employees provided information concerning their personal characteristics, career management strategies, their manager's support for career development, and willingness to participate in development activities. Managers provided ratings of each employee's job performance and developmental behavior. Position, manager's support for development, environmental exploration, and distance from career goal explained significant variance in employees' willingness to participate in development activities and developmental behavior. Career management was not significantly related to performance ratings. Research and practical implications of the study findings are discussed.     

How do flexibility i‐deals relate to work performance? Exploring the roles of family performance and organizational context

Drawing on the work–home resources model and conservation of resources theory, in this study, we explore how flexibility idiosyncratic deals (i‐deals) relate to employees' work performance through their family performance. In line with the work–home resources model, we introduce 2 contextual conditions to explain when our proposed associations may unfold. One is a facilitator: perceived organizational support; and the other is a stressor: perceived hindering work demands. The results of a matched sample of employees and their supervisors working in 2 companies in El Salvador support our hypotheses. Our findings show that the benefits of flexibility i‐deals to the work domain (i.e., work performance) extend only through the family domain (i.e., family performance). Our findings also emphasize that flexibility i‐deals do not unfold in a dyadic vacuum: For employees who perceive organizational support to be higher, the association between flexibility i‐deals and family performance is stronger, whereas for employees who perceive hindering work demands to be lower, the association between family performance and employee work performance is also stronger. We contribute to i‐deals research by (a) exploring a relevant mechanism through which flexibility i‐deals influence work performance, (b) integrating the role of social context to emphasize the social aspects of i‐deals, and (c) enriching the i‐deals literature by introducing a resource perspective.     

An investigation of the relationship between organizational climate and professional drivers’ driver behaviours

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational climate and driver behaviours of professional drivers. The sample consisted of 230 male professional drivers. The participants completed a questionnaire including the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ), Hofstede’s Organizational Culture Scale, and a background information form. Results of the factor analysis of Hofstede’s Organizational Culture Scale yielded two dimensions, which were named as “work orientation” and “employee consideration”. Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVA) revealed significant main and interaction effects of organizational climate on errors, and violations after controlling for the statistical effects of age, annual mileage and the organization types. Drivers with low scores of work orientation reported significantly higher frequencies of errors and violations than drivers with high scores of work orientation. It was also found that drivers with low scores of employee consideration reported higher frequencies of errors and violations than drivers with high scores of employee consideration. The effect of interaction between work orientation and employee consideration dimensions was only found on the frequencies of violations.     

Worker representation and psycho-social risks: A problematic relationship?

This paper explores the relationship between worker representation and the prevention and control of psycho-social risks at work. It argues that to understand this relationship it is helpful to position it within the labour relations context in which it occurs and which helps explain the strengths and limitations of interventions involving worker representation.The paper opens with some important questions of definition with regard to psycho-social risks and worker representation and consultation on health and safety. It goes on to review the evidence for the success or otherwise of worker representation in health and safety generally and discusses this evidence in relation to the control of psycho-social risks specifically. It discusses the problems that the restructuring of work pose for the sustainability of the preconditions for the effectiveness of the statutory model on which worker representation on psycho-social risk is predicated. In so doing the paper notes that many of the features of current restructuring of work that present problems for traditional model of worker representation are the same ones that lead to the increased prevalence of psycho-social risks at the workplace.The paper identifies both barriers and opportunities presented by the changing world of work for achieving an improved preventive scenario for psycho-social risks and discusses the implications of these for current and future strategies of trade unions. It concludes that in the present political and economic climate the state cannot be relied upon for effective regulatory strategies on the psycho-social risks of work. In the absence, or much reduced presence, of this support, some joined up thinking on the part of organised labour is required. Interventions by health and safety representatives on psycho-social risks at the workplace level need to be fully integrated in such thinking if they are to be effective.     

The relationship between patient safety climate and occupational safety climate in healthcare – A multi-level investigation

IntroductionPatient safety climate/culture is attracting increasing research interest, but there is little research on its relation with organizational climates regarding other target domains.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between patient safety climate and occupational safety climate in healthcare.MethodThe climates were assessed using two questionnaires: Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture and Nordic Occupational Safety Climate Questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 1154 nurses, 886 assistant nurses, and 324 physicians, organized in 150 work units, within hospitals (117 units), primary healthcare (5 units) and elderly care (28 units) in western Sweden, which represented 56% of the original sample contacted.ResultsWithin each type of safety climate, two global dimensions were confirmed in a higher order factor analysis; one with an external focus relative the own unit, and one with an internal focus. Two methods were used to estimate the covariation between the global climate dimensions, in order to minimize the influence of bias from common method variance. First multilevel analysis was used for partitioning variances and covariances in a within unit part (individual level) and a between unit part (unit level). Second, a split sample technique was used to calculate unit level correlations based on aggregated observations from different respondents. Both methods showed associations similar in strength between the patient safety climate and the occupational safety climate domains.ConclusionsThe results indicated that patient safety climate and occupational safety climate are strongly positively related at the unit level, and that the same organizational processes may be important for the development of both types of organizational climate.Practical applicationsSafety improvement interventions should not be separated in different organizational processes, but be planned so that both patient safety and staff safety are considered concomitantly.     

Prevalence of work-site injuries and relationship between obesity and injury among U.S. workers: NHIS 2004–2012

Introduction: Studies have reported associations between obesity and injury in a single occupation or industry. Our study estimated the prevalence of work-site injuries and investigated the association between obesity and work-site injury in a nationally representative sample of U.S. workers. Methods: Self-reported weight, height, and injuries within the previous three months were collected annually for U.S. workers in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2004–2012. Participants were categorized as normal weight (BMI: 18.5–24.9 kg/m²), overweight (BMI: 25.0–29.9), obese I (BMI: 30.0–34.9), and obese II (BMI: 35 +). The prevalence of injury and prevalence ratios from fitted logistic regression models was used to assess relationships between obesity and injury after adjusting for covariates. Sampling weights were incorporated using SUDAAN software. Results: During the 9-year study period from 2004 to 2012, 1120 workers (78 workers per 10,000) experienced a work-related injury during the previous three months. The anatomical sites with the highest prevalence of injury were the back (14.3/10,000 ± 1.2), fingers (11.5 ± 1.3), and knees (7.1 ± 0.8). The most common types of injuries were sprains/strains/twists (41.5% of all injuries), cuts (20.0%), and fractures (11.8%). Compared to normal weight workers, overweight and obese workers were more likely to experience work-site injuries [overweight: PR = 1.25 (95% CI = 1.04–1.52); obese I: 1.41 (1.14–1.74); obese II: 1.68 (1.32–2.14)]. These injuries were more likely to affect the lower extremities [overweight: PR = 1.48, (95% CI = 1.03–2.13); obese I: 1.70 (1.13–2.55); obese II: 2.91 (1.91–4.41)] and were more likely to be due to sprains/strains/twists [overweight: PR = 1.73 (95% CI = 1.29–2.31); obese I: PR = 2.24 (1.64–3.06); obese II: PR = 2.95 (2.04–4.26)]. Conclusions: Among NHIS participants, overweight and obese workers were 25% to 68% more likely to experience injuries than normal weight workers. Practical applications: Weight reduction policies and management programs may be effectively targeted towards overweight and obese groups to prevent or reduce work-site injuries.     

Psychosocial risks in small enterprises: the mediating role of perceived working conditions in the relationship between enterprise size and workers’ anxious or depressive episodes

Purpose. The relationship between enterprise size and psychosocial working conditions has received little attention so far but some findings suggest that conditions are more favorable in small enterprises. This could have a positive impact on workers’ mental health. The objective of this study was to test the mediating effect of perceived working conditions in the relationship between enterprise size and anxious or depressive episodes. Methods. Data from the 2010 SUMER – Surveillance Médicale des Expositions aux Risques professionnels (French periodical cross-sectional survey) were analyzed; N?=?31,420 for the present study. Anxious or depressive episodes were measured with the hospital anxiety and depression scale and the perceived working conditions were psychological demand, decision latitude and social support as assessed with Karasek's job content questionnaire. The indirect effect was tested according to the method proposed by Preacher and Hayes. Results. In a multivariate logistic regression, the risk of anxious or depressive episodes was found to be lower in micro enterprises (2–9 employees). Formal tests pointed to a significant indirect effect of enterprise size on mental health through perceived working conditions, with a larger effect for psychological demand. Conclusion. This study highlights perceived working conditions as an explanation of the effects of enterprise size.     

What is the relationship between self-reported aberrant driving behaviors,mindfulness, and self-reported crashes and infringements?

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between self-reported aberrant driving behaviors, mindfulness, and self-reported crashes and infringements.

Methods: Three hundred and eighteen participants (M = 46.0 years, SD = 13.7 years; female: 81.8%) completed an online survey that assessed aberrant driving behaviors, mindfulness (including regular mindfulness meditation [MM]), and self-reported crashes and infringements during the past 2 years. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the relationship between self-reported aberrant driving behaviors and mindfulness simultaneously, as well as with participants' age and estimated kilometers driven over the past year.

Results: The results of the SEM showed that mindfulness was negatively related to each self-reported aberrant driving behavior, with the strongest relationships being between mindfulness and driving-related lapses (?0.58) and errors (?0.46). Participants who practice MM had significantly fewer crashes in the past 2 years and reported significantly fewer driving-related violations and lapses compared to participants who did not practice MM (crashes: 9.3% vs. 18.8%, P < .05; violations: M = 6.66 [SD = 3.44] vs. M = 7.68 [SD = 4.53], P < .05; errors: M = 5.17 [SD = 3.44] vs. M = 6.19 [SD = 4.12], P < .05).

Conclusions: More research is needed to understand whether MM results in more mindful and attentive drivers or whether individuals who practice MM may have other traits or behaviors that are linked to improved safety.     

Is there agreement between worker self and supervisor assessment of worker safety performance? An examination in the construction industry

Introduction: Individual safety performance (behavior) critically influences safety outcomes in high-risk workplaces. Compared to the study of generic work performance on different measurements, few studies have investigated different measurements of safety performance, typically relying on employees' self-reflection of their safety behavior. This research aims to address this limitation by including worker self-reflection and other (i.e., supervisor) assessment of two worker safety performance dimensions, safety compliance and safety participation. Method: A sample of 105 workers and 17 supervisors in 17 groups in the Chinese construction industry participated in this study. Comparisons were made between worker compliance and participation in each measurement, and between workers' and supervisors' assessment of workers' compliance and participation. Multilevel modeling was adopted to test the moderating effects on the worker self-reflection and supervisor-assessment relationship by group safety climate and the work experience of supervisors. Results: Higher levels of safety compliance than participation were found for self-reflection and supervisor assessment. The discrepancy between the two measurements in each safety performance dimension was significant. The work experience of supervisors attenuated the discrepancy between self- and supervisor-assessment of compliance. Contrary to our expectations, the moderating effect of group safety climate was not supported. Conclusions: The discrepancy between worker self- and supervisor-assessment of worker safety performance, thus, suggests the importance of including alternative measurements of safety performance in addition to self-reflection. Lower levels of participation behavior in both raters suggest more research on the motivators of participatory behavior. Practical applications The discrepancy between different raters can lead to negative reactions of ratees, suggesting that managers should be aware of that difference. Assigning experienced supervisors as raters can be effective at mitigating interrater discrepancy and conflicts in the assessment of compliance behavior.     

Investigating the relationship between person–environment fit and safety behavior: A social cognition perspective

Introduction: This study explored the relationship between person–job fit and safety behavior, as well as the mediating role played by psychological safety, from the perspective of social cognitive theory and person–environment fit theory. Method: A total of 800 employees from petroleum enterprises were recruited, with cluster random sampling used to collect data in two stages. Results: The results showed that employees’ safety behavior is higher under the condition of “high person–job fit—high person–organization fit” than under that of “low person–job fit—low person–organization fit.” In other words, the more congruent the level of person–job fit and person–organization fit for a given employee, the higher their level of safety behavior. Practical Applications: Psychological safety plays a mediating role between the congruence of both person–job fit and person–organization fit and employees’ safety behavior.     

The stress of managerial and professional women: is the price too high?

‘Live as domestic a life as possible. Have your child with you all the time. Lie down an hour after each meal. Have but two hours intellectual life a day. And never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as you live’. Dr S. Weir Mitchell, 1855 When Dr Mitchell, purportedly the greatest North American nerve specialist of his time, gave the above advice to his patient Charlotte Perkins Gilman, he almost certainly believed he was helping her get over a severe nervous condition. Fortunately, she did not take his advice. Instead she devoted herself to the study of economics and regained her health. The perspectives offered to working women by many a modern day Dr Mitchell appear to have changed somewhat in subtlety, but little in kind. For example, the August 18, 1986 cover of Fortune magazine featured a beaming mother and cherubic child illustrating the lead article, entitled ‘Why women are bailing out’. The article goes on to tell why four of the ‘best’ women MBAs had quit the workforce. One stated ‘I had to hire and fire people … I just don't want the hassle’ (of corporate life). Another having passed up a promotion at a Houston bank, ‘quit to have her first child’ and after her second had no plans to go back to work. A third complained: ‘I just couldn't do it. I watched other women sliding as they tried to juggle both career and family, making themselves crazy in the process’. And the fourth left a big accounting firm because the ‘hours were bad, and is now happier as a “part time teacher”’. While the Fortune article mentioned several reasons for women's leaving the corporate world ranging from competing family demands to discrimination, the underlying messages were clearly that mothers have to choose between children and career and that the business world is too cold, uncaring and tough for women, in a word no place for a lady. A chorus of such articles have appeared in the popular media warning against the dangers of career commitment for women, which are said to include everything from burnout, infertility, alcoholism, heart attacks to terminal spinsterhood (Faludi, 1991). More serious treatments emanating from academia have often reached similar conclusions. These dire pronouncements are especially influential to young women contemplating a professional or managerial career, but indeed those already in such careers may also wonder if they have made a bad choice. To answer such questions, this paper will explore some aspects of the relationship between career and emotional health and well-being for a group of highly successful career women.     

Exploring the linkage between the home domain and absence from work: Health,motivation, or both?

The aim of this study was twofold. First, we examined depleting and enriching effects of employees' home domain (home demands and quality time spent at home) on unscheduled absence from work. Second, we tested the assumption of the medical and withdrawal models that absence duration and frequency are uniquely predicted by respectively health condition and job motivation. We used longitudinal, different‐source data from 1014 employees. The results showed that home quality time was negatively related to absence frequency and duration in the following year through a physical pathway (less physical stress symptoms and health complaints) and through a psychological pathway (less psychological stress symptoms, increased job motivation). Employees with heavy home demands reported more physical and psychological stress symptoms, more health complaints, and lower job motivation. Accordingly, they had longer and more frequent sick leaves in the consecutive year. We conclude that the home domain adds to our understanding of absence from work. In addition, the model including cross pathways between health complaints and job motivation on the one hand, and absence frequency and duration on the other, best fitted the data. Thus, a clear distinction between volitional absence (frequency) and absence due to illness (duration) seems hard to justify. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

People or systems? To blame is human. The fix is to engineer

Person-centered safety theories that place the burden of causality on human traits and actions have been largely dismissed in favor of systems-centered theories. Students and practitioners are now taught that accidents are caused by multiple factors and occur due to the complex interactions of numerous work system elements, human and non-human. Nevertheless, person-centered approaches to safety management still prevail. This paper explores the notion that attributing causality and blame to people persists because it is both a fundamental psychological tendency as well as an industry norm that remains strong in aviation, health care, and other industries. Consequences of that possibility are discussed and a case is made for continuing to invest in whole-system design and engineering solutions.     

Does participative leadership enhance work performance by inducing empowerment or trust? The differential effects on managerial and non‐managerial subordinates

We examined whether participative leadership behavior is associated with improved work performance through a motivational process or an exchange‐based process. Based on data collected from 527 employees from a Fortune 500 company, we found that the link between superiors' participative leadership behaviors and subordinates' task performance and organizational citizenship behavior toward organizations (OCBO) was mediated by psychological empowerment (motivational mediator) for managerial subordinates. Yet, for non‐managerial subordinates such as supporting and front‐line employees, the impact of participative leadership on task performance and OCBO was mediated by trust‐in‐supervisor (exchange‐based mediator). Implications for theories and practices are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mental models of safety: do managers and employees see eye to eye?

PROBLEM: Disagreements between managers and employees about the causes of accidents and unsafe work behaviors can lead to serious workplace conflicts and distract organizations from the important work of establishing positive safety climate and reducing the incidence of accidents. METHOD AND RESULTS: In this study, the authors examine a model for predicting safe work behaviors and establish the model's consistency across managers and employees in a steel plant setting. Using the model previously described by Brown, Willis, and Prussia (2000), the authors found that when variables influencing safety are considered within a framework of safe work behaviors, managers and employees share a similar mental model. The study then contrasts employees' and managers' specific attributional perceptions. Findings from these more fine-grained analyses suggest the two groups differ in several respects about individual constructs. Most notable were contrasts in attributions based on their perceptions of safety climate. When perceived climate is poor, managers believe employees are responsible and employees believe managers are responsible for workplace safety. However, as perceived safety climate improves, managers and employees converge in their perceptions of who is responsible for safety. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: It can be concluded from this study that in a highly interdependent work environment, such as a steel mill, where high system reliability is essential and members possess substantial experience working together, managers and employees will share general mental models about the factors that contribute to unsafe behaviors, and, ultimately, to workplace accidents. It is possible that organizations not as tightly coupled as steel mills can use such organizations as benchmarks, seeking ways to create a shared understanding of factors that contribute to a safe work environment. Part of this improvement effort should focus on advancing organizational safety climate. As climate improves, managers and employees are likely to agree more about the causes of safe/unsafe behaviors and workplace accidents, ultimately increasing their ability to work in unison to prevent accidents and to respond appropriately when they do occur. Finally, the survey items included in this study may be useful to organizations wishing to conduct self-assessments.     

Synergy or substitution? The interactive effects of insiders' fairness and support and organizational socialization tactics on newcomer role clarity and social integration

Drawing on fairness heuristics theory (Lind, 2001) and cue consistency theory (Maheswaran & Chaiken, 1991; Slovic, 1966), we test a moderated mediation model that examines whether the institutionalization of organizational socialization tactics enhances or constrains the beneficial effects of supervisory and coworker‐referenced justice and support on newcomer role clarity and social integration. The findings of a three‐wave study of 219 French newcomers show that although institutionalized tactics strengthen the positive indirect effects of supervisory interpersonal and informational justice on role clarity, via perceived supervisor support, it also acts as a substitute that weakens the positive indirect effect of coworker‐referenced interpersonal justice on social integration, via perceived coworker support. Implications of the findings for socialization research and practice are discussed.