The Role of Internal Communication and Employee Participation in Creating Health and Safety Climate: A Monographic Study

Abstract

This study has been conducted to understand the elements of the employee health and safety climate in a steel factory with 1,200 employees, the focus was on employee participation and communication, which are at the center of the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Management System standard. The main aim has been to provide the framework to manage OHS risks and opportunities. Data were obtained through 14 focus group (FG) interviews with 133 blue- and gray-collar workers, including foremen, assistant foremen, shift supervisors, and engineers, in February 2023. The data were analyzed using the MAXQDA 2022 qualitative data analysis program. It was aimed to create a unique inductive model from the data collected under nine themes, and the model was created with grounded theory based on detecting, dening, and integrating meaning categories in the qualitative research literature. Analyses focused on the themes of communication and participation, modeled as “intervening variables” in the study conducted with a qualitative method. The results revealed that effective communication, including providing direct information to employees and establishing trust-based relationships, training and development programs and interventions strengthening employees’ approaches related to OHS are required. Employee participation in work and decisions, as an act of doing–learning–understanding related to real life, has the power to transform employee behavior more than issues that are “known on paper.” Additionally, in terms of social sustainability, it is important to underline for employees to be heard in the process of creating successful workplaces that ensure employee well-being.