Role of Safety Motivation in Construction Workplace: A Proposed Conceptual Model

Abstract

Safety is a major concern for construction companies, as it is a source of substantial direct and indirect costs. In some countries, the rate of total workplace injuries from construction activities can be as high as at least 50 percent. This is a serious matter warranting urgent attention. In the past decade, interest in the nature of 'safety climate' and its role in predicting occupational accidents and injuries has increased. The safety climate literature has examined the link between safety climate and safety behaviour, and accidents. Notwithstanding the studies which have attempted to link safety climate and safety outcomes, there remains a number of conceptual and practical difficulties associated with the relationship between safety climate and safety outcomes. In view of this, the principal purpose of this paper is to propose a model that integrates safety climate, individual safety behaviour and safety outcomes, using safety motivation as a moderating factor, to produce an improved integrative model of construction workplace safety, as well as to provide an appropriate measure for safety motivation in the workplace. The model proposes that workers' safety motivation is a key mechanism through which individual differences influence behaviour and safety outcomes. The paper concludes with future research activities to be undertaken to test the proposed model.