How Optimism Bias and Safety Climate Influence the Risk-Taking Behavior of Construction Workers

Siu Shing Man, Ruifeng Yu, Tingru Zhang*, Alan Hoi Shou Chan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
55 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Risk taking among construction workers is a critical topic in construction safety research. The aim of this study was to empirically investigate how optimism bias and safety climate influence construction worker risk-taking behavior. A survey with a designed questionnaire was conducted to collect data from construction workers. A total of 183 construction workers participated in this study and completed the designed questionnaire. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis by using structural equation modeling. Results show that optimism bias related to work risks positively influences construction worker risk-taking behavior, whereas safety climate and optimism bias related to hazard perception skills negatively affect the risk-taking behavior. These findings can enrich the literature on construction worker risk-taking behavior from the perspective of optimism bias and safety climate. Practical implications are provided for discouraging construction workers from taking risks at work.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1243
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume19
Issue number3
Online published22 Jan 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2022

Research Keywords

  • Construction safety
  • Construction workers
  • Optimism bias
  • Risk-taking behavior
  • Safety climate

Publisher's Copyright Statement

  • This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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