Affiliations: University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA | Sentis, Morningside, QLD, Australia | School of Management and Center for Human Resource
Management, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia | Noresco, Four Penn Center West, Pittsburgh, PA,
USA | Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety,
Hopkinton, MA, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Lori Anderson Snyder, University of
Oklahoma, 455 West Lindsey Street, DHT 705, Norman, OK 73019, USA. Tel.: +1 405
325 4582; Fax: +1 405 325 4737; E-mail: lsnyder@ou.edu
Abstract: Objective: Occupational stress models suggest that the ability to
understand, predict, and control stressful events minimizes their impact. This
study examines the applicability of the stress antidote theory to
the safety environment. Newly developed measures assess understanding why and
how unsafe events occur, predicting the occurrence of unsafe events, and
controlling unsafe events, and how these constructs relate to safety
performance at work. In addition, the role of supervisor safety support is
explored. Participants: 424 employees in the Facilities department at a
large university. Methods: Measures were developed based on existing
literature and focus groups, and participants completed a survey about their
safety experiences at work. Results: Analyses conducted using structural
equation modeling indicate that safety understanding, safety prediction, and
safety control are related but distinct variables. Safety understanding affects
safety performance through safety control, while supervisor support for safety
affects safety performance both directly and indirectly through control. Conclusion: Lack of understanding of safety or inability to predict dangerous
outcomes may be necessary but not sufficient to explain unsafe workplace
behaviors. Employees' safety behaviors may be more directly influenced by the
extent to which they have the power to control safety in their work environment.
