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Motivations, Attitudes, Perceptions and Skills: What they said about work health and safety in 2010

September 2011

Motivations, Attitudes, Perceptions and Skills:


What they said about work health and safety in 2010

Motivations, Attitudes, Perceptions and Skills: What they said about work health and safety in 2010 Principal Authors Dr Jenny Job and Mrs Dianna Smith, Safe Work Australia. Other Contributors Dr Elizabeth Bluff, Dr Valerie Braithwaite, Ms Monika Reinhart, Australian National University. Data Collection The Motivations, Attitudes, Perceptions and Skills project was conceived and developed by Dr Jenny Job. Sweeney Research carried out the data collection in 2010.
Disclaimer

The information provided in this document can only assist you in the most general way. This document does not replace any statutory requirements under any relevant State and Territory legislation. Safe Work Australia is not liable for any loss resulting from any action taken or reliance made by you on the information or material contained on this document. Before relying on the material, users should carefully make their own assessment as to its accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances. The views in this report should not be taken to represent the views of Safe Work Australia unless otherwise expressly stated."

Creative Commons
ISBN 978-0-642-33256-1 - [PDF online] ISBN 978-0-642-33257-8 - [RTF online] With the exception of the Safe Work Australia logo, this report is licensed by Safe Work Australia under a Creative Commons 3.0 Australia Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en In essence, you are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the work to Safe Work Australia and abide by the other licensing terms. The report should be attributed as the Motivation, Attitudes, Perceptions and Skills: Pathways to Safe Work. Enquiries regarding the licence and any use of the report are welcome at: Copyright Officer Communications, IT and Knowledge Management Safe Work Australia GPO Box 641 Canberra ACT 2601 Email: copyrightrequests@safeworkaustralia.gov.au

Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Information collected ......................................................................................................... 1 Demographics ................................................................................................................... 1 Meaning of work health and safety .................................................................................... 2 Diagram 1: What comes to mind when you hear the term Occupational Health and Safety .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Level of concern about work health and safety .................................................................. 3 Table 1: Ranking of work health and safety 1995, 1996, 1998, 2010 ................................. 3 Workplace safety ............................................................................................................... 3 Main causes of accidents .................................................................................................. 4 Table 2: Main causes of workplace injuries and illnesses 1995, 1996, 1998, 2010 ............ 5 Motivation, informal leadership and raising work health and safety issues ......................... 5 Table 3: Self confidence to improve work health and safety .............................................. 6 Awareness of state inspectorate ........................................................................................ 6 Table 4: Main sources of information on work health and safety ........................................ 7 Occupational and other demographic differences .............................................................. 8 References ........................................................................................................................ 9

Introduction
There is a wealth of information on workplace culture, managing work health and safety and specific workplace risks. Less is known about socio-psychological factors, such as motivations, attitudes, perceptions, knowledge and skills, and how they influence work health and safety actions and outcomes. To improve our knowledge of the socio-psychological factors that impact on work health and safety behaviour, a project entitled Motivations, Attitudes, Perceptions and Skills (MAPS) was undertaken in 2009-10. It collected baseline information by computer assisted telephone interviews from 762 Australians aged 18 and over who worked in the five industry groups at high risk of occupational injuries: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Construction, Health and community services, Manufacturing and Transport and storage. One report from this study has already been published. It is titled 'Motivations, Attitudes, Perceptions and Skills: Pathways to Safe Work' and is available on the Safe Work Australia website at http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/AboutSafeWorkAustralia/WhatWeDo/Publications/Page s/MAPSPathwaysToSafeWork.aspx.This report focuses on workers attitudes to safety and to their bosses, their perceptions of their workplace, their views about regulatory authorities and their motivation to take safety issues seriously. In this second report we present an overview of the survey findings and outline some of the basic descriptive statistics obtained from the survey data. For example, it includes information on the demographic composition of the survey respondents, a brief summary of the information collected in the survey, respondents views on the importance of work health and safety, their main sources of work health and safety information, how safe they think their workplace is and their perceptions of common causes of workplace injury and illness. Key findings of the study include that nearly all of the workers surveyed believed that their workplace was safe and that removing hazards as soon as possible, wearing personal protective equipment and identifying risks and reporting accidents were ways to help keep workplaces safe. However, work health and safety is still only a middle order health and safety issue with workers more worried about road safety, cancer and diet and exercise than work health and safety. Although over 90% are aware of their state inspectorate only 9% say that the inspectorate is a source of health and safety information for them, for example via website, inspectorate office or inspector. Workers are more likely to say that training courses (36%) through work, apprenticeships or university or meetings at work (26%) are the main sources of information on work health and safety.

Information collected in the survey


The information collected included: Demographic information including age, gender, state, industry Level of concern about health and safety issues in society Main sources of information on workplace health and safety Perceived motivations of supervisors or managers Motivations to take preventative action - legal action, external action Trust, integrity Communication Identification with others Competency in workplace safety Informal leadership, and Motivational posturing.

Demographics
The MAPS survey was answered by Australian workers aged 18 years and over:

64% were male and 36% female (this reflects the make-up of the industries examined) 9% were aged between 18 and 24 years, 46% were aged between 25 and 44 years and 45% were aged 45 years and over 18% worked in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, 22% in Manufacturing, 23% in Construction, 22% in Transport and storage; and 15% in Health and community services 71% had been working in their industry for more than 5 years, 17% for between 2 and 5 years, and 13% for less than 2 years 54% worked as a manager or supervisor, 46% did not 78% worked for an employer, 4% for a labour hire firm, 18% were self-employed, 7% working alone and 11% employing others 31% worked in companies with more than 20 but less than 200 employees, 38% in companies with fewer than 20 employees, and 30% in companies with more than 200 employees, and 60% worked 40 hours a week or less, 40% worked more than 40 hours a week.

Meaning of work health and safety


When asked what comes to mind when you hear the term occupational health and safety 30% of people said it is about safety in the workplace. Other responses were that occupational health and safety is about following procedure (10%), workplace injuries/accidents (9%), prevention (8%), safety of self and others (7%) and rules and regulations (6%). Some of the verbatim responses are shown in Diagram 1 below.

Diagram 1: What c omes to mind when you hear the term Occ upational Health and S afety
Everyones safety, not just the individual but for people around you Taking care of yourself at work and knowing the rules, and being aware of others in the workplace in regards to their safety as well It is keeping everyone at work safe and getting the job done without anyone getting hurt

Its using safe work practices and methods to reduce injuries in the industry

To be in a healthy environment Spoken about a lot but does not appear to be me to be of great concern to management

Just having a good working environment. Just making sure there are no hazards. Logical things I suppose making sure nothing is slippery, workers not going up ladders, checking making sure

Accidents in the workplace and trying to prevent them Main safety work related e.g., following procedures when working, putting down cones so no one slips or falls

Lots of paperwork Safe workplace. Documented safe work practices by employers. Culture of safety Safety being aware and aware of others

It is very important that you are very safe at work and go home safely and peace of mind

About preparing work areas and workforce to prevent accidents and work related illness

Being inspected by the relevant authorities

Safe work place and work practices. Everyone working together to keep a safe place

My best interest

Level of concern about work health and safety


In late 1995, ANOP Research Services Pty Ltd found that work health and safety was only a middle-order health and safety issue with just slightly less than one in ten (9%) respondents spontaneously mentioning work health and safety as an important health and safety issue. Even when prompted only a third said that they were worried or very worried about work health and safety. In 1995 people were more worried about road safety (69%), cancer (54%) and heart disease (50%) than work health and safety (37%) as highlighted in Table 1 below. In 1997-98 ANOP Research Services Pty Ltd conducted a follow up survey and found that while community awareness of work health and safety had increased since 1995, it was still regarded as a middle-order health and safety issue and was not a major community concern (42% were personally worried about it). Over the 15 years since the first ANOP Pty Ltd research, the importance of work related injury and illnesses has not changed in health and safety concerns ranking. It is still fourth 46% say they are concerned about work health and safety. Road accidents (59%), cancer (54%) and diet and exercise (48%) are now the top three concerns.

T able 1: R anking of work health and s afety 1995, 1996, 1998, 2010

Comparison between ANOP and MAPS ANOP


% Very much/Quite a lot worried Road accidents Cancer Diet and exercise Work-related injuries and illnesses Drugs Violence/personal safety Heart disease Mental illness Smoking Alcohol 1995 % 69 54 -37 --50 36 47 39 1996 % 67 56 -39 --49 31 46 28 1998 % 66 60 -42 --48 34 48 32

MAPS
2010 % 59 54 48 46 44 42 40 35 34 32

Note Drugs and violence/personal safety were not included in the ANOP surveys

Workplace safety
Nearly 90 per cent of the workers in the survey believed that their workplace was safe, though this was a sentiment that was held by more people in a supervisory role (91%) than workers without supervisory roles (82%). No other significant differences were found between respondents by age, state or size of business.

When asked how consistently certain actions are taken in their workplaces, 1 respondents said that the following are done always or most of the time - removing hazards as much as possible (88%), making work practices safe (88%), using personal protective equipment provided (87%), identifying health and safety risks (84%), reporting accidents and near misses (81%) and discussing health and safety concerns with managers, supervisors and co-workers (77%). Over half of respondents said they have access to the work health and safety regulator (58%). A very positive finding is that the majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statements that making the workplace safe is the right thing to do (100%) and making the workplace safe ultimately advantages everyone (98%). These findings suggest a strong, commitment to work health and safety among respondents.

Main causes of accidents


When they were read a list of possible causes of work-related injuries and illnesses, and asked to say which three they thought were the most important causes in their own workplaces, respondents were more likely to identify workers being careless (41%), pressure or stress (38%), just not thinking (37%) and lack of education and training (28%). In the 1990s, nearly half of the ANOP survey respondents also nominated worker carelessness as one of their top three perceived causes of work-related injury and illness (47%) however more respondents (64%) identified lack of education and training as one of the three most important causes. The comparative survey data suggest that community perceptions of worker carelessness have changed little over the last 15 years. On the other hand, respondents are much less likely to identify lack of education and training as an important cause of work-related injury and disease. This may reflect the trend to incorporate work health and safety in secondary, vocational and university level education from the mid-to late-1990s in Australia.

They were not asked who takes these actions.

T able 2: Main c aus es of workplace injuries and illnes s es 1995, 1996, 1998, 2010

Comparison of ANOP and MAPS


ANOP
% Total mentions Workers being careless Pressure or stress Just not thinking Lack of training or education Dangerous equipment or machinery Risk taking Unsafe work practices or procedures Dangerous chemicals and substances Boring repetitive work Alcohol or drugs Lack of supervision 15 38 26 28 12 35 22 35 18 27 23 31 64 34 76 36 66 38 1995 % 47 38 1996 % 48 33 1998 % 41 46

MAPS
% 41 38 37 28 26 25 21 20 20 17 12

Motivation, informal leadership and raising work health and safety issues
Respondents were asked what encourages you to take action to improve health and safety at work. The majority strongly agreed or agreed with the following listed statements - wanting to do the job more easily or efficiently (87%), concern about being personally responsible for someone being injured or made ill through work (85%), and when weighing up the cost you realise it actually doesnt take too much time or effort to take action (81%). Other common reasons for taking action were management or supervisor requirements (78%), wanting to avoid time off work (76%), receiving positive feedback, recognition or reward from management/supervisor for taking action (74%), wanting to avoid a workers compensation claim (71%) and enforcement action by an inspector (67%). Respondents appeared to have a series of positive rationales for taking action to improve work health and safety. When asked about their level of agreement with a series of statements concerning informal leadership and raising work health and safety concerns, most respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statements you are not afraid to challenge unsafe situations or unsafe work practices (90%), employees are encouraged to raise health and safety concerns in your workplace (89%) and in your workplace managers and supervisors express concern if an unsafe situation occurs (86%). The majority of respondents also strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that management corrects unsafe situations or unsafe practices when they become aware of them (86%), and there is good communication in your workplace about health and safety (84%). These findings suggest positive views and leadership for work health and safety in the respondents workplaces. This interpretation is also supported by the finding that the majority of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that when other people ignore unsafe situations or unsafe practices in your workplace, you feel it is none of your business (93%). Most respondents also responded favourably to statements regarding their personal competency and capacity, and work health and safety. The majority agreed or strongly agreed with statements such as, you have thought about and taken on board the safety issues in your workplace (95%), you are confident acting in accordance with the safety principles in your workplace (95%), you are confident that you have the knowledge and skills to protect yourself

and others at work (94%) and you can solve most health and safety problems if you try hard enough (92%). However, younger workers aged between 18 24 years were more likely than older workers (45 years or more) to agree or strongly agree with the statements that you get so involved in the work you are doing you sometimes forget about safety (42%) and you and your colleagues sometimes skylark at work and take risks that jeopardise each others safety (25%).

T able 3: S elf c onfidenc e to improve work health and s afety


BY AGE
% Strongly agree/agree You have thought about and taken on board the safety issues in your workplace You feel confident acting in accordance with safety principles in your workplace You are confident that you have the knowledge and skills to protect yourself and others at work You can solve most health and safety problems if you try hard enough You are confident that other people you work with know what to do to protect health and safety at work You get so involved in the work you are doing you sometimes forget about safety You and your colleagues sometimes skylark at work and take risks that jeopardise each other's safety You have difficulty handling health and safety issues that come your way
Q28. Please tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements

Total % 95 95 94 92 77 29 12 7

18-24 % 91 93 90 93 74 42 25 6

25-44 % 93 94 93 92 77 31 12 9

45+ % 97 96 95 92 77 23 8 6

Awareness of state/territory inspectorate


In 2010, 94 per cent of people in the survey said they had heard of the work health and safety regulator in their state/territory (the regulator was named).

Diagram 2: Awareness of state/territory inspectorate

Yes 94%

No 6%

Q4 .

Now thinking about OHS laws and OHS inspectorsHave you heard of INSPECTORATE] ?

[INSERT STATE

Also, most agreed or strongly agreed with the statements that the regulator is trusted by me to administer the OHS laws and rules fairly (76%), acts in the interests of all workers (73%), and respects the individuals rights as a worker (72%). A high proportion agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that the regulator treats people/businesses as if they can be trusted to do the right thing (62%). This positive stance towards health and safety regulators is consistent with the finding that 72 percent of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that the regulator is more interested in catching you for doing the wrong thing with OHS, than helping you do the right thing. Despite the quite positive views about work health and safety regulators, only 9 per cent of the respondents said the inspectorate (eg website, inspectorate office or inspector) was among the three main sources from which they had learned something useful about work health and safety in the last year or so. In contrast, 36 per cent named training courses (work, apprenticeship, university) among their three main sources. These were all unprompted responses. Other main sources named by respondents were the media (30%) and meetings at work (26%), which is similar to the situation found in the ANOP research in 1995 and 1998. In contrast, in 2001/2002, research by KPMG Consulting which looked at the key management motivators for work health and safety found that chief executive officers (CEOs), senior managers and persons with supervisory responsibilities in small and medium businesses principally obtained their information from work health and safety regulators or industry associations. The difference may relate to the proportion of respondents in the current survey who were workers.

T able 4: Main s ources of information on work health and s afety


Comparison between, ANOP, CEO drivers and MAPS
ANOP 1995 % Total mentions Training courses (e.g., work, apprenticeship, university) Newspapers, magazines Media Television Meetings at work Industry pamphlets or newsletters Supervisors or managers OHS representatives Posters/signs/notices at work Inf ormal channels (e.g., workmates, f amily, doctors) Employer or industry associations OHS regulators (e.g., web site, of f ice, inspector) Email at work Internet Experience/doing the job itself Suppliers of equipment/material Risk Management consultant Other people in trade
Information just from workmates # information from pamphlets etc generally

CEO drivers 1998 % 16 37 1 2 30 26 First % 2 2001 Total % 4 Total % 36

MAPS 2010 Managerial % 32 34 24 21 13 16 12 11 14 11 6 7 5 Non % 41 25 28 18 21 15 17 16 11 7 5 2 4

% 20 19 17

36

12# 23

23# 14

20 17

5 8 17* 10 12* 1 5* 25 31 5

9 2 8* 36 41 8

15 14 13 13 9 5 5 5

1 1 3

3 3 7

Occupational and other demographic differences


There are statistically significant differences in the way that people look at work health and safety depending on the industry that they work in, age and size of business. Respondents who work in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry were more likely to agree with the statement that departing from work health and safety requirements is acceptable (38% compared to 29% overall). They were less likely to have access to health and safety training at work (47% compared to 60%) or to elect a work health and safety representative in their workplace (52% compared to 68%). Construction workers were more likely to agree with the statement that they will tick the boxes and complete paperwork but do no more than this (18% compared to 11%). Younger workers were more likely to agree that they resent dealing with work health and safety requirements (28% compared to 14%). They were also more likely to agree that they get so involved with work that they forget about safety (42% compared to 29%) and that they and others sometimes skylark at work and take risks that jeopardise each others safety (25% compared to 12%). There was a lower level of engagement with work health and safety in small business. More than half of respondents who work in small business agreed with the statement that it is impossible to satisfy all the work health and safety requirements (53% small, 39% large) and that they only do what they legally required to do to make a workplace safe (36% small, 23% large). More of those in a managerial or supervisory role (43%) agreed with the statement that accidents happen because people are not thinking than those who did not work in these roles (30%). Overall, the majority of people think that their workplace is safe. They claim that they have the knowledge and the confidence to put that knowledge into practice to ensure their workplace is safe and healthy. The findings suggest that there are positive views for work health and safety in the respondents workplaces. Respondents said that most people will not ignore unsafe work practices or situations. Workers are more likely to gain their knowledge on work health and safety from training or meetings at work than from their regulator. Nevertheless, most said that they were aware of their regulator and the respondents trusted the regulator to administer the work health and safety laws and rules fairly.

References
ANOP Research Services Pty Ltd (1995) Community Awareness of, and Attitudes to, Occupational Health and Safety: Detailed Report of ANOP National Benchmark Study. ANOP Research Services Pty Ltd (1998) Community Awareness of Occupational Health and safety. KPMG Consulting (2001) Key management motivators in Occupational Health and Safety Volume 1: Main Report. A report for the National Occupational Health & Safety Commission.

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