A CROSS-LEVEL INVESTIGATION OF FACTORS INFLUENCING UNSAFE BEHAVIORS AND ACCIDENTS

Several recent reviews of industrial accidents have given increased at tention to the role of organizational factors as antecedents to the ac cident sequence. In the current study, three group-level factors (i.e. , group process, safety climate, and intentions to approach other team members engaged in unsafe acts) and one individual-level factor (i.e. , perceptions of role overload) were hypothesized to influence the fre quency of reported unsafe behaviors using a cross-level research strat egy. Data were collected from 21 teams and 222 individuals in a Midwes tern chemical processing plant. Both the individual and group-level va riables were significantly associated with unsafe behaviors, thereby s upporting the cross-level hypotheses. There was also initial evidence suggesting that the group process-unsafe behavior relationship was med iated by intentions to approach other team members engaged in unsafe a cts. At the team level of analysis, safety climate and unsafe behavior s were significantly associated with actual accidents. Group process a nd approach intentions were marginally related to actual accidents (p< .10). The implications for a cross-level approach to safety and interv entions is discussed.