New research links CEO behavior to workplace safety culture, injuries
Findings show how CEOs can encourage a company-wide commitment to safety that prevents injuries
New research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology shows how CEOs can play a more effective role in developing an organizational safety climate in their organizations that actually reduces injuries.
“Safety in the C-Suite: How CEOs Influence Organizational Safety Climate and Employee Injuries,” which was funded by the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), is based on tests of the commonly held “leader-centric” viewpoint, where the leader at the top is assumed to directly influence frontline employee injuries. The researchers found that CEOs in their study actually indirectly influenced workers’ experience of injuries by promoting an overarching safety climate in their organization, achieved through the collective learning experiences and efforts of the CEOs’ top management team, managers, and supervisors.