The Psychology of Workplace Safety

Fatalities and injuries on the job still occur at unacceptably high rates in both industrial and developing countries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there were 4.9 million reported workplace injuries in the US in 2001. This work analyzes both the behaviours that lead to accidental injuries in the workplace and the behaviours that can prevent and manage them. In the process, the contributors summarize what is known about the subject, and raise questions for researchers to answer in the future. It is clear that job related injuries are related to poor worker-employer collaboration, lack of safety management systems, poor safety culture, deficient knowledge and training, and lack of incentive-based compensation systems. This work points out the ways in which I/O psychologists can help reduce unintentional workplace injuries.