Antecedents of self-reported safety behaviors among commissioning workers in nuclear power plants: The roles of demographics, personality traits and safety attitudes

Abstract

Demographics, personality traits and attitudes are related to safety behaviors in varied workplaces, but their roles in nuclear power plants (NPPs) have not been fully understood. This study was conducted to explore the roles of a set of demographic, personality and attitudinal factors on self-reported safety behaviors (including safety participation and human errors) among NPP commissioning workers. Survey data were collected from 157 Chinese commissioning workers. Results showed that age and work experience were significantly associated with human errors, but not with safety participation. Neuroticism and conscientiousness were significantly related to human errors, while neuroticism, conscientiousness and agreeableness were significantly related to safety participation. Attitude towards questioning was observed as an antecedent of safety participation, and functioned as a mediating variable in the relation between conscientiousness and safety behaviors. The findings provide evidence-based implications on the design of diverse interventions and strategies for the promotion of safety behaviors in NPPs.