Improving Workplace Safety by Thinking About What Might Have Been

Abstract

Counterfactual thinking is defined as cognitions about what might have been. Social psychologists propose that counterfactual thinking can be functional as it alters future behavior in a manner that is consistent with better (e.g., safer) outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of counterfactual thinking on safety behavior, as well as two mechanisms (safety knowledge and motivation) and individual differences (safety locus of control) that are proposed to explain and facilitate this relationship. A sample of 240 medical providers from a hospital in Guizhou Province of China responded to three surveys over a four-month time frame. Results showed that upward counterfactual thinking (reflecting on how past events could have been better) was positively related to safety compliance and participation, which were mediated by safety knowledge, but not by safety motivation. Furthermore, upward counterfactuals were found to be more strongly related to safety compliance and participation and safety knowledge than downward counterfactuals (reflecting on how past events could have been worse). Contrary to our hypotheses, these relationships were not dependent on safety locus of control. In sum, the findings demonstrated that upward counterfactual thinking has functional effects on safety behavior and safety knowledge expanding the variables related to workplace safety and laying the groundwork for new safety interventions.