| This study investigates the existence of differences between workers' and supervisors' perceptions of safety in the workplace and the relationship between those differences and safety outcomes (worker's safety climate and worker's self-reported injuries). A cross-sectional study was conducted comparing the perceptions of safety between 211 workers and 19 supervisors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Physical Plant shops.; Mann-Whitney U nonparametric tests were conducted to identify significant differences in the perception of safety issues and safety practices. A low proportion of significant differences were found, which suggests that in general, workers and supervisors tend to agree on their perceptions of the safety environment. However, when differences do occur, the workers' perceptions of exposure frequency, hazard level, safety practice frequency and safety practice effectiveness is consistently lower than the supervisors' perceptions.; Linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between worker-supervisor perception differences and three worker safety climate factors (Management and Supervisor Support, Control and Comfort, and Hindrances towards Safety). The relationship was significant, suggesting that as the number of perception differences increases, the workers perception of safety climate becomes less positive. Similarly, hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between worker-supervisor perception differences and worker self-reported injuries. This relationship was also significant, suggesting that as the number of perception differences increases, the likelihood of injury reports also increases. The most likely mechanisms that could explain the relationships between perception differences and the two safety outcomes are discussed. A practical application for utilizing perception differences to perform a quick evaluation of workplace safety is proposed. |
