Introduction
A proper and effective risk management culture is significant for every workplace. Researchers have studied the essentials of such a culture for centuries to provide companies with practical procedures for developing effective risk management protocols (Hofmann, Burke, and Zohar, 2017). This research focuses on answering the question: What are the essential aspects of a risk management culture at the workplace? The question is answered by analyzing an interview session between a facilitator and a focus group comprising of employees.
Analysis Methodology
A transcript of an unstructured interview session involving a focus group with seven participants and one facilitator was available for analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted on the transcript to identify essential aspects of a risk management culture at the workplace (Peterson, 2017). Grounded theory was used to understand more thoroughly risk management culture (Peterson, 2017). The approach was instrumental in coding the discussion of the focus group.
Results
Extensive explication was carried out on the data collected from the discussion of the focus group to identify aspects of developing a risk management plan. These aspects are understanding of risk, history of accidents, outcomes following an accident, role of experience in safety, the link between safety and job type, and knowledge of the essentials of a safe workplace as shown in Appendix A.
Risk Understanding
When employees in the focus group were asked to define risk, two responses were given: harm and something going wrong. Organizations are encouraged to involve their staff in risk management planning (Gheorghe, 2017). When employees participate, they can quickly identify risks by locating hazards and the potential harm (Hofmann, Burke, and Zohar, 2017). A risk should have two elements present to be qualified as a risk that requires management: the presence of a hazard and the possibility of harm (Xia et al., 2017). In identifying risks, the safety team must identify all the hazards at the workplace (Xia et al., 2017). Misidentification of risks could leave employees exposed (Xia et al., 2017). For example, one participant cites the boss being angry as a risk.
History of Accidents
When developing a risk management culture, it is crucial to understand how risks happened and were dealt with in the past. The participants mentioned occurrences such as electrocution, laceration, falling off, fire, smashed finger, and metal in the eye as possible accidents at work. This history is critical in marking risky areas and allocating severity in case of occurrence (Subramaniama, Shamsudinb, and Alshuaibic, 2017). One participant reported having been involved in accidents three times, which would indicate the riskiness of the job or the employee’s failure to adhere to safety protocols.
Accident Outcomes
The participants also discussed the consequences of accidents as being time off and monetary expenses to the company. Employees involved in accidents require time off to see a doctor and recover (Hofmann, Burke, and Zohar, 2017). Such time reduces overall productivity at the company, lowering profits (Gheorghe, 2017). When the organization is liable for the accident, it caters to the hospital expenses of the employees, further increasing its losses due to the risks. Therefore, developing a risk management culture is in the best interest of every business.
Employee’s Experience Level
From the analysis, employee’s experience level and skills have an impact on safety. One participant was asked whether he has been in an accident and replied with a no. The explanation he gave was, ‘I just play it safe.” Notably, the employee had been with the company for years and never reported a single accident. However, the employees in the painting department described their job as less risky while hinting at using protection tools to achieve safety. Training of workers on safety can considerably lower the possibility of accidents (Subramaniama, Shamsudinb, and Alshuaibic, 2017). The focus group shows little training and education on safety.
Job Type
The type of job also seems to affect risk and accident occurrence. One participant commented that ‘Painters don’t get hurt’ to support a previous member’s statement. However, the two painters in the focus group extended the discussion, revealing more reasons for their safety. Some of the comments are ‘we are smart,’ and we protect ourselves at all times.’ Therefore, in addition to the job type, the precautionary level also determines the safety of employees (Gheorghe, 2017). The conversation around painters reveals that specific job types require more protection and hence report more minor incidences. Nevertheless, workers need safety training and enough equipment to protect themselves (Subramaniama, Shamsudinb, and Alshuaibic, 2017). Most of the accidents mentioned by the focus group resulted from a lack of both or one of these.
Safety Essentials Knowledge
Knowledge around the essentials of workplace safety was also demonstrated in the discussion. The participants mentioned various ideas for improving safety at the workplace, including education, training, housekeeping, and provision of safety equipment. One group member discussed how they jump or stand on toes to reach items placed on cabinets. Such a scenario demonstrates the lack of safety equipment (Subramaniama, Shamsudinb, and Alshuaibic, 2017). A risk management culture will require employers to offer training and provide the tools to facilitate the knowledge (Hofmann, Burke, and Zohar, 2017). Additionally, the employees did not know whether an emergency plan exists at their workplace. None of the employees was trained on first aid, and the entire office relied on a gym across the road. Therefore, if an accident happened and the gym was closed, the injured person would have to wait for a 911 dispatcher.
Limitations
The sampling, unstructured data, and analysis method used in this study limit its generalizability to a larger population, validity, and reliability. The study only involved one focus group of seven participants (n=7), all from the same company. Therefore, the obtained results cannot be generalized to employees in other organizations and industries. The unstructured method of data collection also jeopardizes its validity and reliability.
Conclusion
Risk management is essential for employees’ safety in every company and industry. Regardless of whether businesses develop a risk management culture for compliance with regulations or to reduce costs associated with accidents, this research is instrumental in guiding such a process. The study identifies aspects of risk management culture as risk understanding, history of accidents, accident outcomes, employees’ experience levels, job type, and safety essentials knowledge.
References
Gheorghe, C., 2017. Study regarding the Steps of Occupational Health in Safety Management System. International Journal of Economics and Management Systems, 2.
Hofmann, D.A., Burke, M.J. and Zohar, D., 2017. 100 years of occupational safety research: From basic protections and work analysis to a multilevel view of workplace safety and risk. Journal of applied psychology, 102(3), p.375.
Peterson, B.L., 2017. Thematic analysis/interpretive thematic analysis. The international encyclopedia of communication research methods, pp.1-9.
Subramaniama, C., Shamsudinb, F.M. and Alshuaibic, A.S.I., 2017. Investigating employee perceptions of workplace safety and safety compliance using PLS-SEM among technical employees in Malaysia. Journal of Applied Structural Equation Modeling, 1(1), pp.44-61.
Xia, N., Wang, X., Griffin, M.A., Wu, C. and Liu, B., 2017. Do we see how they perceive risk? An integrated analysis of risk perception and its effect on workplace safety behavior. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 106, pp.234-242.