The development of a considerate and responsible safety attitude in work teams

Safety research has identified the potential importance of having considerate and responsible employees who care about the safety of their co-workers [e.g. Burt, C.D.B., Gladstone, K.L, Grieve, K.R., 1998. Development of the considerate and responsible employee (CARE) scale. Work and Stress 12 (4), 362–369]. This study had the general aim of identifying variables that are related to employees having a caring attitude towards their co-worker’s safety. Variables examined as possibly related to caring were co-worker knowledge, opener ability, team tenure, co-worker and supervisor support, group orientation and group cohesion. The relationship between caring and the personal support dimension of contextual performance was also examined. Study 1 sampled workers in the forestry and construction industries, and found that caring was positively correlated to group cohesion and to the amount of knowledge an employee had about their co-workers. Study 2 sampled workers in a road construction and a power generation company, and found that caring was positively correlated with team tenure and the personal support dimension of contextual performance. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the recruitment of team members, and the management of the caring aspect of team safety climate.