PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS THAT PREDICT SAFETY CLIMATE OF ORGANIZATION IN AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY

Abstract

Successful functioning of an organization, especially agricultural one, implies the necessity for a properly organized system of employee health and safety. The system will function properly only when employees perceive organizational safety processes and procedures as a part of their behavior at work. The purpose of this study with reference to scientific literature and empirical research to determine the main factors that predict higher safety climate in organization. 961 employees from a large Lithuanian company of agricultural industry participated in the survey. The study was conducted using Sexton’s Safety Climate Questionnaire and two scales from Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. The analysis of data via Structural Equation Modeling confirmed the theoretical model of psychosocial safety climate antecedents. The findings of the study showed that employee trust in management had higher predictive value as compared to workplace commitment, and that the leader’s role in promoting safety in an organization is more important than employee attitudes or declared safety-related orders and procedures in the organization.