How Leaders and Coworkers Affect Construction Workers’ Safety Behavior: An Integrative Perspective
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 147, Issue 12
Abstract
Leaders and coworkers have a critical influence on construction workers’ safety behavior, but limited attention has been paid to how they work together. This study took an integrative perspective, exploring the combined effects of leaders (safety leadership) and coworkers [coworkers’ safety knowledge and behavior (CSK/B)] on construction workers’ safety behavior (compliance and participation) through their risk perception. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey administered to 348 frontline construction workers in China, and hierarchical linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. Results show that both safety leadership and CSK/B positively affected workers’ safety compliance and participation via risk perception. In addition, compared with safety leadership, CSK/B had a stronger impact on workers’ risk perception, as well as a stronger impact on safety compliance and safety participation via risk perception. This study deepens understanding of the forming mechanism of construction workers’ safety behavior by examining the mediating role of risk perception and comparing the influence of safety leadership and CSK/B. Practically, this knowledge will enable construction managers to develop appropriate strategies for fostering construction workers’ safety behavior.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 71772136). We would like to thank all the respondents who answered our questionnaire. We would also like to express our gratitude to the editor and anonymous reviewers of this paper.
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Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 147 • Issue 12 • December 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Apr 21, 2021
Accepted: Sep 15, 2021
Published online: Oct 12, 2021
Published in print: Dec 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Mar 12, 2022
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