Organizational Safety culture Influencing Employee Safety Practice: A Case of Ethiopian Electric Utility Company, Western Region

Abstract

Employee safety practice is a function of safety management systems operating within the organizational safety culture. Organizations with positive safety culture are likely to have employees with good safety practice. Ethiopian electric utility company is engaged with generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. Employees of this company, especially the electricians and engineers deal with electricity which is hazardous and risky. Due to the risks involved in such occupations, the creation and improvement of safety culture is of paramount importance to inculcate practice of safety to workers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess and determine whether five organizational safety culture dimensions described herein were predictors of employee safety practice. A sample size of 240 out of 642 employees was taken. Out of the targeted 240 respondents, only 194 completed the questionnaire representing a response rate of 80.8%. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20 was used to analyze the data collected and generate results. Accordingly, descriptive statistics and inferences were made. It was found out that the current safety culture and safety practices at this company were inadequate and workers level of compliance to safety was also low. In summary, from the findings, there is positive correlation on the relationship between management commitment, safety training, safety communication, accident prevention, safety involvement, and employee safety practice. Based on coefficients, the adjusted R2 turned 0.323 showing that there is 32.3% of the variation in safety practice which is accounted for by the combined effects of the five predicators namely; management commitment, safety training, safety communication, accident prevention, safety involvement. The major findings of the study indicated that three independent variables i.e. safety training, safety communication and accident prevention and control measures influence significantly the compliance to safety practice. But, safety involvement and management commitment were not significantly influence compliance of employee safety practice. Therefore, In order to improve employee safety practice maintaining positive safety culture in the company is advisable.