Small business owners' health and safety intentions: a cross-sectional survey.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the variables underlying small business owners' behavioural intentions toward workplace health and safety. This project explores the relationship between three mediating variables (Attitude Toward Safety, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioural Control) and owners' Intentions Toward Safety, following the Theory of Planned Behaviour. We also investigate the role of beliefs underlying each mediating variable.


METHODS
Seven hundred businesses (5-50 employees) were randomly selected from 4084 eligible companies in a manufacturing business database (SIC codes 24 to 39). The 348 respondents are on average 51 yrs of age, 86% male, 96% white and have 2 to 4 years of post-secondary school.


RESULTS
All three mediator variables are significantly correlated with Intentions Toward Safety; Attitude Toward Safety shows the strongest correlation, which is confirmed by path analysis. Owners with higher attitudes toward safety have a higher probability of believing that improving workplace health and safety will make employees' healthier and happier, show that they care, increase employee productivity, lower workers' compensation costs, increase product quality and lower costs.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that interventions aimed at increasing owners' health and safety intentions (and thus, behaviours) should focus on demonstrating positive employee health and product quality outcomes.
Brosseau
Lisa M
LM
Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA. brosseau@umn.edu
Li
Shelby Yahui
SY
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota; D016272:Occupational Health; D010067:Ownership; D015397:Program Evaluation; D017751:Safety Management / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000592:standards*