title: Perceptions of work environment priorities: Are there any differences by company size? An ecological study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Earlier studies suggest that the quality of handling occupational health and safety (OHS) activities differs between companies of different sizes. Company size is a proxy variable for other variables affecting OHS performance.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to investigate if there is an association between company size and perceptions of work environment prioritizations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 106 small- and medium-sized Swedish manufacturing companies was collected. One manager and one safety delegate at each company rated different aspects of their companies' work environment prioritizations with a 43-item questionnaire. Ratings were aggregated to a summary statistic for each company before analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant differences in perceptions of priority were found to be associated with company sizes. This is in contrast to earlier studies of objective differences. The respondents in small companies, however, showed significantly greater consensus in their ratings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Company size does not appear to be associated with perceptions of work environment prioritizations. Company size is an important proxy variable to study in order to understand what factors enable and obstruct safe and healthy workplaces. The work presented here should be viewed as an initial exploration to serve as direction for future academic work.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Occupational and Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hasse
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nordlöf
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Medicine, County Council Gävleborg, Gävle, Sweden.|Faculty of Educational Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wijk
authors.affiliation: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Occupational and Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karl-Erik
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Westergren
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D066192:Manufacturing Industry; D016272:Occupational Health; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010465:Perception; D058012:Small Business; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Company size; consensus; ergonomics; occupational health and safety (OHS); perceptions