The Relationship between Safety Climate and Job Satisfaction Among Employees in a Tire Manufacturing Company (original) (raw)

2023, Research Square (Research Square)

This research aimed to investigate the in uence of safety climate on job satisfaction and determine the relative importance of these variables among employees employed in a tire manufacturing organization. A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted involving 280 individuals working in a tire manufacturing company. The data collection process involved the utilization of Dante's job satisfaction questionnaire and the NOSACQ Nordic Safety climate questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using the software SPSS version 29.0 and R programming language version 4.2.2. The ndings revealed that individuals who had not experienced workplace accidents exhibited signi cantly higher levels of job satisfaction compared to those who had encountered such incidents. Moreover, the results of multiple regression analysis demonstrated a signi cant relationship between job satisfaction and factors including overall safety climate score, history of workplace accidents, and educational status. These ndings undeniably underscore the crucial role of safety climate in in uencing employees' job satisfaction levels within the tire manufacturing industry. This predictive ability produces signi cant outcomes in safety, including risk perception, accident reduction, and injury prevention 2-5. The evaluation of safety climate enables an individual to comprehend how to construe, assess, or appraise the actions taken by safety managers, the signi cance and worth assigned to safety within the organization, the tolerable level of risk, the attitude of co-workers toward safety, and other related factors 6. Although most managers recognize the signi cance of participating in safety and welfare initiatives for their employees, only a small number of managers are willing to jeopardize or infringe upon safety regulations. Through a meta-analysis Clarke revealed that the correlation between safety climate and safety conduct was partly attributable to job-related attitudes, including organizational commitment and job satisfaction. In addition, the relationship between safety climate and occupational accidents was partly associated with both safety behavior and overall health 7. Job satisfaction is a subjective emotional sentiment experienced by an individual regarding their occupation. This affective response to a job arises from comparing the job with the most desirable jobs. Job satisfaction represents the psychological connection that employees have with their work 8. Characteristics of the work environment, such as information, materials, and physical surroundings, have a signi cant impact on employee job satisfaction 9. Safety-climate models are shifting toward a narrow de nition that provides limited insight into the means by which perceived safety climate is connected to overall work-related attitudes and behaviors that are crucial for organizational effectiveness. When employees perceive a positive safety climate within the organization, indicating a prioritization of safety and a commitment to safety, this can increase their sense of commitment and satisfaction with the organization, thereby promoting positive behavior, a phenomenon referred to as "positive contagion" 10. The Job Characteristics Model 11 posits that enhancing the sense of usefulness, responsibility, and use of knowledge and skills can result in elevated job satisfaction and performance. Work adjustment theory 12 predicts that when employees comprehend the necessity of a safe work environment, they will exhibit more positive attitudes. Moreover, based on the psychological contract between employees and employers, it is the employer's responsibility (commitment) to ensure su cient safety measures, demonstrate management commitment towards employee safety, and reduce occupational hazards, which can lead to a positive attitude and safe behavior among employees 13. Job satisfaction, which refers to an individual 's favorable emotional reaction towards their job, can in uence their motivation to adhere to safety regulations and invest greater effort into engaging in safety initiatives. As such, job satisfaction can serve as a predictor of safety compliance and participation in safety-related activities 14. The correlation between safety climate and job satisfaction has been minimally explored in the literature. McCaughey et al. (2013) conducted a study that demonstrated how occupational injuries and illnesses had an adverse impact on the safety perception of healthcare workers in their work environment. The authors contended that a de cient safety climate in the workplace has an unfavorable association with the well-being of healthcare workers. In essence, experiencing occupational injuries or illnesses is a crucial factor that can lead to negative perceptions of the safety climate in the work environment, which can affect job stress, job satisfaction, and the decision to seek alternative employment 15. Research on psychological and safety climate in the workplace examines experimental and environmental factors as potential origins of employee attitudes towards safety climate in the workplace 16-19. There is a dearth of research in Iran regarding the association between safety climate and job satisfaction. Rohollahi et al. (2015) investigated the correlation between various dimensions of safety climate and safety practices in the aviation industry 20. The precise evaluation of safety climate is vital as it can facilitate the identi cation and evaluation of potential workplace issues, enhance employee performance, and decrease the incidence of accidents. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of safety climate on job satisfaction and to evaluate the relative signi cance of each of these variables among employees working in a tire manufacturing organization. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study aimed to examine the correlation between job satisfaction and employee safety climate within a tire manufacturing company. The study population comprised employees of the company (N = 1035). Using the Cochran formula and a simple random sampling method, a sample of 280 individuals was selected for this study. The sample was strati ed based on the number of personnel in each of the three