Perceptual attitudes towards safety climate among employees of a manufacturing firm: A qualitative approach

Abstract

Safety climate can be regarded as a summary of moral perceptions that employees share about their work environments. This study explores the attitude of employees (working on production sites) towards the safety climate of a manufacturing firm producing medical equipment located in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire from 30 employees working in the manufacturing section of Setia Tek Limited. All the responses from open-ended questionnaires were analyzed descriptively and interpretively simultaneously using a thematic content analysis method. The findings indicate that the overall perception of the majority (67%) of employees about safety climate is positive. The research findings further reveal that majority of employees share a common understanding of the significance of the managerial strategies in business operations. With regard to the contribution of dimensions to shaping safety climate perceptions, the analysis reveals that all nine dimensions (safety concept, risks associated with daily work, cause of accidents, safety policies, regulations, and procedures, balance productivity goals and safety goals, commitment of the upper management, commitment of the immediate supervisor/ manager, commitment of employees, adequate training and competency, disciplinary actions for safety violations, accident investigations) positively contribute to employees’ safety perceptions.

Keywords

• employee perceptions
• manufacturing firms
• safety climate
• safety climate dimensions
• safety culture