Workplace safety, Employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firms

Orientation: The manufacturing sector in Kenya has been experiencing employee safety and productivity issues despite adopting safety programmes and laws regulating employee safety. Employee safety attitudes significantly worsen workplace safety and productivity problems. Research purpose: The study...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tetu M. Mutegi, Paul M. Joshua, Jesse K. Maina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2023-02-01
Series:SA Journal of Human Resource Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/1989
_version_ 1811161286441959424
author Tetu M. Mutegi
Paul M. Joshua
Jesse K. Maina
author_facet Tetu M. Mutegi
Paul M. Joshua
Jesse K. Maina
author_sort Tetu M. Mutegi
collection DOAJ
description Orientation: The manufacturing sector in Kenya has been experiencing employee safety and productivity issues despite adopting safety programmes and laws regulating employee safety. Employee safety attitudes significantly worsen workplace safety and productivity problems. Research purpose: The study determined the intervening effect of workplace safety attitudes on the relationship between workplace safety and employee productivity in manufacturing firms in Kenya. Motivation for the study: Manufacturing firms adopt new technologies that expose employees to new safety risks, while globalisation has led to a diverse workforce with diverse safety attitudes. Research approach/design and method: This study is grounded on the risk homeostasis theory; it adopted a cross-sectional survey research design guided by a positivist research philosophy. The target population comprised 853 manufacturing firms registered with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. A sample of 124 firms distributed across the 14 sub-sectors in the manufacturing sector was obtained using a statistical formula to ensure all sectors were represented. Regression analysis was carried out in four steps to assess the intervening effect of workplace safety attitude on the relationship between workplace safety attitude and employee productivity. Main findings: The coefficients were significant in each step, therefore leading to the conclusion that employee safety attitude significantly intervened in the relationship between workplace safety and employee productivity. Practical/managerial implications: The study offers managerial insights into the situational position of workplace safety, employee safety attitudes and employee productivity. Contribution/value-add: The study provides epistemological insights on the impact of employee safety attitudes on workplace safety and employee productivity.
first_indexed 2024-04-10T06:12:32Z
format Article
id doaj.art-173409de547c488ab8498f3e37410951
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1683-7584
2071-078X
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-10T06:12:32Z
publishDate 2023-02-01
publisher AOSIS
record_format Article
series SA Journal of Human Resource Management
spelling doaj.art-173409de547c488ab8498f3e374109512023-03-02T11:53:34ZengAOSISSA Journal of Human Resource Management1683-75842071-078X2023-02-01210e1e1110.4102/sajhrm.v21i0.1989709Workplace safety, Employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firmsTetu M. Mutegi0Paul M. Joshua1Jesse K. Maina2Department of Business Studies, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Embu, NairobDepartment of Business Studies, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Embu, NairobDepartment of Business Studies, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Embu, NairobOrientation: The manufacturing sector in Kenya has been experiencing employee safety and productivity issues despite adopting safety programmes and laws regulating employee safety. Employee safety attitudes significantly worsen workplace safety and productivity problems. Research purpose: The study determined the intervening effect of workplace safety attitudes on the relationship between workplace safety and employee productivity in manufacturing firms in Kenya. Motivation for the study: Manufacturing firms adopt new technologies that expose employees to new safety risks, while globalisation has led to a diverse workforce with diverse safety attitudes. Research approach/design and method: This study is grounded on the risk homeostasis theory; it adopted a cross-sectional survey research design guided by a positivist research philosophy. The target population comprised 853 manufacturing firms registered with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. A sample of 124 firms distributed across the 14 sub-sectors in the manufacturing sector was obtained using a statistical formula to ensure all sectors were represented. Regression analysis was carried out in four steps to assess the intervening effect of workplace safety attitude on the relationship between workplace safety attitude and employee productivity. Main findings: The coefficients were significant in each step, therefore leading to the conclusion that employee safety attitude significantly intervened in the relationship between workplace safety and employee productivity. Practical/managerial implications: The study offers managerial insights into the situational position of workplace safety, employee safety attitudes and employee productivity. Contribution/value-add: The study provides epistemological insights on the impact of employee safety attitudes on workplace safety and employee productivity.https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/1989workplace safetyemployee safety attitudesemployee productivity, manufacturing firms, productive time
spellingShingle Tetu M. Mutegi
Paul M. Joshua
Jesse K. Maina
Workplace safety, Employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firms
SA Journal of Human Resource Management
workplace safety
employee safety attitudes
employee productivity, manufacturing firms, productive time
title Workplace safety, Employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firms
title_full Workplace safety, Employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firms
title_fullStr Workplace safety, Employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firms
title_full_unstemmed Workplace safety, Employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firms
title_short Workplace safety, Employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firms
title_sort workplace safety employee safety attitudes and employee productivity of manufacturing firms
topic workplace safety
employee safety attitudes
employee productivity, manufacturing firms, productive time
url https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/1989
work_keys_str_mv AT tetummutegi workplacesafetyemployeesafetyattitudesandemployeeproductivityofmanufacturingfirms
AT paulmjoshua workplacesafetyemployeesafetyattitudesandemployeeproductivityofmanufacturingfirms
AT jessekmaina workplacesafetyemployeesafetyattitudesandemployeeproductivityofmanufacturingfirms