Safety compliance re-examined: Differentiating deep compliance from surface compliance

Abstract

The present study extended the concept of safety compliance by differentiating two forms of compliance behavior: deep compliance and surface compliance. We then drew on research on safety climate and developed a model of how different dimensions of safety climate: namely, management commitment to safety and perceived punishment for non-compliance behavior, influence these two forms of safety compliance. Using a two-wave panel study design, we collected data from 159 full-time employees whose jobs involved following safety rules and procedures on a daily basis. As predicted, results from path analyses indicated that the while deep compliance is predicted by management commitment to safety, surface compliance is predicted by perceived punishment for non-compliance behavior, respectively. Also as predicted, our results showed that deep compliance, but not surface compliance, predicted the safety outcome of near misses, supporting the importance of differentiating these two forms of compliance. Theoretical contributions to the literature and practical implications for promoting safety in the workplace are discussed.