Work safety climate. Comparison of selected occupational groups

instructions related to the safe use of tools and behavior in the workplace, whose nature is uni- versal [5,40]. With regard to the differences observed between the groups, it was noted that industrial production line workers did not rate any of the studied work safety climate dimensions signifi- cantly higher than representatives of the other groups. On the other hand, they rated signifi- cantly lower dimensions such as pace of work and fatigue level, occupational health and safety training process, and atmosphere in the workplace. The differences observed are justified by the specific nature of the work performed by mem- bers of this occupational group. Their work involves physical strain, which is certainly linked to the level of fatigue. Limited contact with other colleagues, due to the specificity of the place of work (single-workstation job) and the competitive reward system, may have a significant impact on the lower rating attributed to social relations. The process of training or informing employees about safety procedures is different among production workers compared to the other occupational groups analyzed. Information meetings are organized for the whole staff (shift), and training is usually held for large groups, which may affect both the quality of the communication and the effectiveness of the training as such [41]. Compared to the other occupational groups, retail workers declare the safest behaviors, giv- ing the highest rating to the management’s engagement in health and safety, modeling and

enhancing safe behaviors, and the workplace atmosphere. They also give the lowest rating, compared to the other groups, to the process of participation in safety-related matters and accident risk management. Compared to production workers, retail workers declare a lower level of fatigue and a slower pace of work, and they give a better rating to the occupational health and safety training process. The situation is totally different when retail workers are compared to mine rescuers. Retail workers declare a higher level of fatigue than mine rescuers, as well as a faster pace of work, and they give a lower rating to the training process. Also in this case, the results obtained are justified by the specific nature of the work per- formed by the study respondents. Work in retail usually does not require one to use personal protective equipment, with a lower level of psychophysical strain than in the case of mine res- cuers and production workers. Their work is carried out mostly in small teams, which makes it undoubtedly easier to build interpersonal relationships and an appropriate atmosphere. Train- ing with regard to safety rules is held most often in small groups, which improves the effective- ness of such processes [41] The possibility of having direct contact with one’s superior makes it possible to model appropriate attitudes towards safety rules in this case. Mine rescuers, compared to representatives of the other two occupational groups, rate sig- nificantly higher such work safety climate dimensions as pace of work and fatigue levels, occu-

pational health and safety training process, and organizational policy with regard to health and safety management. In addition, representatives of this occupation group rated significantly higher the atmosphere in the workplace compared to production line workers, and employee engagement in safety-related matters compared to retail workers. They gave a significantly lower rating, on the other hand, to work safety climate dimensions such as safe behavior and management engagement. Compared to retail workers, they also rated significantly lower modeling and enhancement of safe behaviors in the organization as well as atmosphere in the workplace. The results obtained are justified by the specific nature of work in mine rescue services. Referring to the differences noted between the groups in their assessment of the pace of work and fatigue level, it is worth pointing out that more positive assessment in the rescuer group may be explained by the fact that, although the conditions in which rescue operations are car- ried out involve a huge physical and mental strain, the circumstances of extreme strain are cur- rently treated as extraordinary. Representatives of the other two groups, in turn, are often PLOS ONE Work safety climate PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243056 December 14, 2020 13 / 19