Abstract
The diffusion of the COVID-19 pandemic has generated numerous interventions aimed at reducing the contagion by means of specific prevention measures, also characterized by stricter occupational health and safety (OHS) procedures at the workplace. To better understand how this novel working context has impacted on farmers’ safety behavior and attitude, a safety climate assessment was carried out by means of the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50), which was augmented to include specific items related to the modifications of working conditions due to COVID-19. This allowed us to analyze changes in safety climate perceptions, pointing out worker-manager discrepancies in safety behavior and attitude. Additionally, the COVID-19 questionnaire contributed to analyzing the effects of the specific OHS measures due to the pandemic from the workers’ standpoint. Results showed that concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic have augmented the attention paid to OHS, demonstrating a correlation between the safety climate dimensions and the OHS measures due to COVID-19. Besides, farmers’ risk-taking behavior and attitude appeared still critical, highlighting the need for more specific and contextual interventions in terms of safety information and training. Overall, this study aims to expand knowledge on shared safety awareness and perceptions in the COVID-19 period.
Highlights
Our society has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020
Results showed that concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic have augmented the attention paid to occupational health and safety (OHS), demonstrating a correlation between the safety climate dimensions and the OHS measures due to COVID-19
The present study dealt with the investigation on how the pandemic has been affecting farmers and their safety climate perceptions
Summary
Our society has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. This situation is affecting, more or less, all countries worldwide, modifying our lifestyles and the organization of working activities in all sectors, due to the safety measures aimed at reducing the spread of the virus [1,2,3]. Has been one of the most affected countries, considering both the number of total cases and deaths in comparison with the population; according to data provided by Worldometer [4], 59,333 cases and 1811 deaths per million of inhabitants were registered by the end of March 2021 In such a context, besides the changes to daily life that concern all of us, working activities and the organization of workplaces have been modified in order to face the pandemic [5,6]. To better evaluate this aspect, a comparative analysis was made with the results of previous investigations carried out among similar companies when the emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak was at its beginning [8] Such an approach allowed us to bring to light changes in safety climate perceptions, pointing out worker-manager discrepancies in safety behavior and attitude. This survey allowed us to understand how farmers perceive the impact of the COVID-19 OHS measures, providing contextual information on their impact on safety climate perceptions
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