Predictors of coach drivers' safety behaviour and health status

Abstract

This study examined whether coach drivers' perceptions of organisational safety climate mediated the relationship between their supervisor's leadership style and a number of outcome measures including self-reported safety behaviour, number of accidents and near misses, occupationally-induced fatigue, job-related affective well-being, and symptoms of physical strain. Forty-nine coach drivers from three companies in Australia completed a cross-sectional survey. Standard multiple regression analyses were conducted and these revealed that safety climate directly predicted all of the outcome measures apart from the number of accidents and near misses drivers reported. Transformational leadership was also a predictor of organisational safety climate, confirming that organisational safety climate is a mediator of the link between leadership style and the outcome measures. Managers who emphasise the importance of safety to their drivers and who demonstrate a transformational leadership style that shows concern for the welfare of the drivers will encourage greater safety behaviour from drivers and better health outcomes for drivers.