Non-technical Perspectives for Improving Safety in the Workplace

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of IJERPH, we are organizing a Special Issue about the psychosocial factors and processes associated with safety in the workplace. IJERPH is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes manuscripts in the interdisciplinary area of environmental health sciences and public health.

Existing data on accidents and safety show that we have much to gain from a deeper understanding of the factors that affect workplace safety. In recent years, researchers have been allocating increasing attention to workplace safety, as well as psychosocial factors and the processes involved. Beus et al. (2016) defined an integrated safety model, which summarized the existing knowledge on safety theories. This model highlighted how personal resources (e.g., cognitive, emotional), safety knowledge, safety motivations, and social factors in the workplace have an essential role in safe/unsafe work behaviors and the occurrence of accidents.

Based on several theoretical models that support the importance of non-technical perspectives, the aim of this Special Issue is to study the underlying psychosocial processes of safety behaviors, by exploring ways in which safety performance, and the related level of safety, can be enhanced by working on psychosocial factors such as perceptions, attitudes, motivations, skills, and emotions.

We invite the submission of high-quality conceptual and empirical papers. We would appreciate the use of a range of theoretical and methodological approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Lastly, we encourage interdisciplinary collaborations and perspectives. We also welcome high-quality case studies of psycho-social safety issues explored in real contexts. Suggested themes might relate to, but are certainly not limited to, safety climate and culture, motivation, safety participation, safety leadership, risk perceptions, safety training and assessment, and non-technical skills and sustainability.

Assoc. Prof. Marco Giovanni Mariani
Prof. Dina Guglielmi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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