Safety leadership: A collaborative project for safety leadership and safety culture in the construction industry
Short description
The research aim was to investigate how construction site managers influence–and are influenced by–the safety culture in the Swedish construction industry, and how site managers' leadership can be developed through individualized behavior-based safety-leadership training (IBST). The project comprised a longitudinal questionnaire study, a randomized controlled trail and an interview study. The project's results indicate that site managers influence their supervisors' safety leadership and their employees' safety behaviors. Furthermore, individualized behavior-based safety-leadership training–including behavior analysis, goal formulation, and behavioral training with behavior-specific feedback–increase site managers' use of positive feedback and active listening, as well as their transformational and contingent-reward leadership.
Background
Occupational accidents annually cause around 300,000 deaths in the world and every day more than 960,000 people are injured at work. One of the industries most affected by work accidents is the construction industry, which accounts for more than 20% of all work-related deaths in Sweden and Europe. Those who run the greatest risk of being affected are the young–in Sweden, 19% of all work-related injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 25. One of the more effective methods developed to reduce occupational accidents is called behavior-based safety (BBS). On average, implementation of BBS results in a 26% reduction in occupational accidents. BBS is about creating and maintaining a well-functioning safety culture by establishing structures and working methods that reinforce safe behaviors in workplaces.
Construction site managers are central leaders in the construction industry. Their task is to lead construction projects and coordinate interdependent construction workers, supervisors, project managers, subcontractors and clients. Previous research indicates that their safety leadership is important for the safety climate, employees' safety behaviors, and occupational injuries. 14% of all construction site managers are under the age of 35, and the proportion of young construction site managers has steadily increased over the past ten years. These young construction site managers are faced with a challenging work situation and often receive limited training in shouldering their managerial role and their work environment responsibility (BAS-U).
Purpose
The aim of the Safety-leadership project is to investigate how construction site managers influence– and are influenced by–the safety culture in the Swedish construction industry, and how site managers' leadership can be developed through individualized behavior-based safety-leadership training (IBST).
Method
For the project, a longitudinal questionnaire study was designed with three measurement occasions. In addition, a leadership training program for safety leadership was developed, which was evaluated through a randomized controlled trial and an interview study. 68 construction site managers from 30 different construction companies participate in the research project, along with their project managers (n = 58) supervisors (n = 101) and workers (n = 123).
In sub-study one, we investigate how safety leadership in the construction industry develop through role modeling and imitation. We wanted to find out how construction site managers' safety leadership develops as they are socialized into their role as leaders in the construction industry. In sub-study two, we investigate how site managers' leadership behaviors influence employee safety behaviors. Previous research is predominantly cross-sectional; hence, there is a lack of knowledge about the causal relationships between managers' leadership behaviors and employees' safety behaviors. In sub-study three, we developed and evaluated individualized behavior-based safety-leadership training (IBST), which is a procedure for training site managers' safety leadership through behavior analysis, goal setting, practice with behavior feedback, homework, and maintenance planning. In leadership training research, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials and thus there is a lack of knowledge about the causal relationship between leader training and change in safety-leadership behaviors. Sub-study four was a qualitative process evaluation of IBST and included interviews with participating managers as well as the managers' subordinate supervisors and superior project managers.
Results
The results generated so far show that site managers influence their supervisors' safety leadership and their employees' safety behaviors. In sub-study one, Larsman et al. (2024) fund that site managers are role models for their supervisors' safety leadership and that supervisors align their safety leadership with the leadership practiced by their site managers’, both in terms of contingent-reward leadership and safety-specific feedback. In sub-study two, Ulfdotter Samuelsson et al. (2023) found that site managers' safety priority increases employees' voice behaviors. The results from sub-study one and two also show that site managers' safety leadership is influenced by that of supervisors’ safety leadership and employees’ safety behaviors: when supervisors use a high degree of safety-specific feedback, their site managers increase this type of leadership behavior (Larsman et al., 2024) and when employees use a high degree of safety-compliance behaviors, their site managers' active listening increases (Ulfdotter Samuelsson et al., 2023). In sub-study three, Grill et al. (2023) found that IBST affects site managers' leadership by increasing their leadership behaviors in terms of favorable feedback, safety-specific feedback, behavior-specific feedback, antecedent listening, and consequential listening. In addition, the site managers' leadership performance increases in terms of transformational and contingent-reward leadership. In sub-study four, Räisänen et al. (2023) found that IBST may result in long-term safety-leadership behaviors being transferred to the workplace; however, contextual contingencies and exigencies, for example, participant characteristics and situated work-environment, proved of crucial importance for training transfer. To achieve effective safety-leadership training transfer that reinforces safe behavior on construction sites, it is wise to problematize the dynamics of participant motivations and situated construction project factors.
Education
The Safety-Leader project includes the writing of a dissertation thesis by Amanda Ulfdotter Samuelsson. The thesis has the working title "The development of safety-related leadership behaviors and their importance for safety at work" and is expected to be completed in 2026. Also, a master’s thesis by Sara Gregerman (2021) has been written within the project, titled: “Transformational leadership behaviors and safety in Swedish construction sites: A structural equation modelling approach”.
Researchers
Principal investigator
Martin Grill, Associate professor at the Department of Psychology
Members from the University of Gothenburg
Pernilla Larsman, Associate professor at the Department of Psychology
Max Rapp Ricciardi, Associate professor at the Department of Psychology
Amanda Ulfdotter Samuelsson, PhD student at the Department of Psychology
Erik Matton, Psychologist at the Department of Psychology
Edit Norderfeldt, Psychologist at the Department of Psychology
Rose Mary Erixon, Research assistant at the Department of Psychology
Members from other partners
Christine Räisänen, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology
Berndt Jonsson, National coordinator of OHS at The Swedish Construction Federation
Johan Lundström, Skills developer at Skanska Sweden AB
Publications
