Research On The Influence Of Occupational Health And Safety Management(OHSM) Practices On Work Performance

In this study,the main objective is to explore the influence of Occupational Health and Safety Management(OHSM)practices on work performance among workers in the Ghanaian oil and gas sector.The study seeks to understand the influence of the human intents as a conduit of work performance in a highly risky industry by developing a conceptual model that expands previous literature to capture the mediating and moderating effect of occupational risk perception and work motivation as a significant determinant of the causal relationship between OHSM practices and work performance.The study measured OHSM practices from six distinct safety dimensional perspectives which examine workers' perception of work safety,management commitment to safety,safety policies and programs,health and safety training programs,organizational hazards,and availability and use of Personal Protection Equipment(PPE).On the other hand,work performance was measured using a two-dimensional distinct construct that assesses different aspects of positive work behaviors.These include measuring workers' task performance and safety performance in the organization.The study further adopted different theoretical assumptions(i.e.The Job Demand-Resource Model(JD-R),Self Determination Theory –SDT,Perceived Organizational Support for Safety – POSS,and the distraction theory of accident causation)and findings from previous empirical studies to build a hypothesized model that integrates occupational risk perception and work motivation as two distinct factors that connect the causal influence of OHSM practices on work performance.Hence,occupational risk perception and work motivation were used as mediating and moderating variables.An exploratory study through a quantitative research method was adopted.The study participants constitute a total number of 1310 workers sampled through stratified,purposive,and convenient sampling techniques constituting 13 production plant sites,15 work stations,and 6 departments in three major government-owned oil and gas organizations involved in all phases of oil and gas production and operational activities.Only respondents groups whose work responsibilities can be considered as herculean,highly risky,and yet with over 3years of work experience with no managerial or supervisory roles in the organization were selected.These respondents groups were further categorized into four strata(i.e.laborers,machine operators,technicians,and engineers).Using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0,descriptive statistics,exploratory factor analysis,confirmatory factor analysis,structural equation models(SEM),and goodness of fit test were used as data analysis methods.The preliminary test results indicated that there was no presence of either Multicollinearity or autocorrelation among the latent constructs.The KMO proved significant adequacy of the sample while the factor loadings,Cronbach's Alpha,Composite Reliabilities,and AVE statistic conditions for the scales were all satisfied.The model fit indices estimated for the CFA and SEM met all the fit indices criterion.The findings from the path estimate by the SEM analysis suggest that OHSM practices positively and significantly influence the safety performance and task performance of employees in the Ghanaian oil and gas industry.The influence of OHSM practices however indicated a higher positive significant influence on task performance than safety performance.The estimates from the SEM path analysis as well showed that OHSM practices do not only significantly predict safety and task performance but may as well positively and significantly determine occupational risk perceptions and work motivation among the respondents.The significant influence OHSM practices have on both task and safety performance were significantly moderated and partially mediated by occupational risk perception and work motivation.Task performance and safety performance were both significantly determined by occupational risk perception and work motivation,however,occupational risk perception significantly and positively influences safety performance more than task performance.Work motivation was found to have a larger influence on task performance compared to safety performance.The path estimates explaining the influence of work motivation on both safety and task performance were the highest as compared to the path estimates predicting the causal influence of OHSM practices and occupational risk on safety and task performance.Most reliably,these findings confirm the assumptions propounded by the theories adopted in the development of the study's hypothesized model.The findings from this study address issues such as the significance of understanding the fundamentals of how employees' perception of work-related risk and work motives improves the causal effect of OHSM practices on safety and task performance in a highly risky work environment.It is therefore advisable for management to show high commitment towards safety,involve workers in safety decisions,organize frequent safety training,and orientations to improve employees' perceptions of risk and enhance positive work behavior and attitudes.Serious attention towards investing in occupational health and safety management systems should be well articulated,considered,and practiced to improve the safeness of the work environment as much as possible.In conclusion,this study through the empirical findings ascertained from the conceptual model presents is more conclusive evidence on the need for organizations to appreciate the importance of managing workers' risk perception and understand OHSM practices as a motivational drive that induces work performance.Thus,the significant mediation and moderating effect of occupational risk perception and work motivation on the influence of OHSM practices on work performance put forward a new practical and theoretical contribution to the literature.Moreover,the dimensions for assessing work performance used in this study extend the performance theories established in previous literature whereas the integrated multifaceted OHSM practices employed diverge from the traditional individualistic approach by providing insights into more flexible managerial practices that are employee-centered and outcome-oriented.