Understanding railway employees’ perceptions of senior managers’ safety commitment

Abstract

Numerous empirical studies have concluded that employees’ perceptions of managers’ commitment to safety is related to important safety outcomes, including injuries. Specifically, employees who perceive that managers prioritize safety over other competing demands are more likely to comply with rules and participate in safety. This is especially important in the railway industry as many employees (e.g. train engineers) are not directly supervised. The present study utilized qualitative methodology to investigate how employees perceive senior managers’ commitment to safety. Results suggest that a variety of sender, message, and receiver characteristics interact to impact perception formation. Participants’ descriptions of senior manager safety commitment included representations of engaged safety leadership, consistent safety leadership, the allocation of finances to safety, and implementation of policies and procedures that reflect a value for safety. Suggestions for practice are discussed.