Investigating ethnic minorities' perceptions of safety climate in the construction industry

• Published in: Journal of safety research 2017-12, Vol.63, p.9-19
• Main Authors: Chan, Albert P.C., Wong, Francis K.W., Hon, Carol K.H., Lyu, Sainan, Javed, Arshad Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude; Australia; Composite materials; Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); Construction; Construction industry; Construction Industry - organization & administration; Construction management; Discriminant analysis; Ethnic Groups; Ethnic minority; Exploratory factor analysis (EFA); Factor analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Goodness of fit; Humans; Injury prevention; Male; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority Groups; Multivariate analysis; Occupational accidents; Occupational Health; Organizational Culture; Perception; Perceptions; Reliability aspects; Reproducibility of Results; Resource management; Safety; Safety climate; Safety management; Safety Management - methods; Shortages; Statistical analysis; Studies; Variance analysis; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0022-4375; 1879-1247
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2017.08.006

An increasing number of ethnic minorities (EMs) have been employed in the construction industry to alleviate severe labor shortages in many countries. Unfortunately, statistics show that EMs have higher fatal and non-fatal occupational injury rates than their local counterparts. However, EMs are often underrepresented in safety climate (SC) research as they are difficult to reach and gauge their perception. A positive relationship has been widely found between SC and safety performance. Understanding the safety perceptions of EMs helps to reduce injuries and improve their safety performance. Based on a sample of 320 EMs from 20 companies in the construction industry, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to identify the SC factors of EMs, and validate the extracted factors, respectively. Multivariate analysis of variance was undertaken to examine mean differences in perceptions of SC by personal characteristics. Three SC factors for EMs encapsulating 16 variables were identified through EFA. The hypothesized CFA model for a three-factor structure derived from EFA showed a satisfactory goodness-of-fit, composite reliability, and construct validity. Three SC factors were identified, namely: (a) safety management commitment, safety resources, and safety communication; (b) employee's involvement and workmate's influence; and (c) perception of safety rules, procedures and risks. The perceptions of SC differed significantly by nationality, marital status, the number of family members supported, and drinking habit. This study reveals the perception of EMs toward SC. The findings highlight the areas for safety improvement and provide leading indicators for safety performance of EMs. The findings are also enlightening for countries with a number of EMs, such as the United Sates, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and the Middle East. •This study investigated ethnic minorities' perceptions of safety climate in construction industry.•Factor analysis approach was used on data from 320 ethnic minority construction workers.•A three-factor safety climate structure of ethnic minority construction workers was identified.•Ethnic minorities' perceptions of safety climate differed significantly by nationality, marital status, family members support, and drinking habit.