Significance of negative feedback on safety management — From the perspective of interpersonal communication

Abstract

A questionnaire survey was conducted targeting employees of a chemical plant in order to examine the facilitation of safe work practices, focusing on 'negative feedback on jobs' (hereinafter, Job-NF), which is defined as verbal communication delivering negative evaluations on work behaviors and attitudes. For the first research question, the effects of several types of Job-NF and other communication, such as conversations about safety in the promotion of safe behaviors, were compared. Analyses revealed that the effect of Safety-related job-NF was strongest, followed by type of advice and pointing out General job-NF while type of complaint had no effect. To resolve the controversy over whether Job-NF has negative effects when it involves a threat to recipients whilst promoting safe behaviors, conditions where Job-NF functions were examined, focusing on the degree of face-threat caused by Job-NF. Organizational climate had a stronger effect on degree of face-threat than closeness as a relational factor and included dissatisfaction as a message factor. Contributions of focusing on NF in safety management and the importance of organizational climate were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)