Boustras, Georgios

Management of health and safety in micro-enterprises (less than 10 employees) is a critical issue due to the relatively high level of injuries in such firms. It is also an under-researched area in the international safety literature. The present paper is based on a nationwide survey with the cooperation of the relevant health and safety enforcement authority among micro-firms in several economic sectors. Micro-enterprises comprise a major percentage (95.4%) of business firms in a small economy like Cyprus. The survey examined the perceptions and work attitudes of workers and their relationship with safety performance of the particular firms.This paper presents the results related to the perceptions of employees. A previous paper presented the results focusing on employers. Information was collected on their demographic characteristics and major influencing factors of safety performance like employee participation in safety decisions and safety training. The safety performance measure, an index comprising several safety performance aspects was assessed by the health and safety (labour) inspectors, in order to overcome potential problems of common method bias when all data are obtained from the same group of respondents.The findings suggest that safety performance has a positive and statistically significant correlation with safety training provided by the firm. It has also a positive and statistically significant association with the safety information available to employees and with the perceived safety conditions. The effect of the participation of workers in safety decisions and their organizational commitment, although significantly correlated with safety performance as individual variables, are not statistically significant after controlling for the effect of the other variables mentioned above. The results show the important relationship between safety training and other good practices (like provision of information and improved safety conditions) on safety performance in micro-firms.

Management of health and safety in micro-firms (<10 employees) is a critical issue due to their lack of resources and the limited – in certain cases – knowledge on the subject. It is also an under-researched area in the international safety literature. The present paper is based on a Nationwide Survey with the cooperation of the relevant health and safety authority among micro-firms in several economic sectors. Micro-firms comprise a major percentage of business firms in a small economy like Cyprus. The survey involved the workers and the owners/managers of the firms, but also obtained information for compliance and safety performance of the particular firms from safety inspectors. The present research approach overcomes potential problems of common method bias when all data are obtained from the same group of respondents. The main purpose of this survey is to explore the organizational determinants of safety performance at the workplace in micro-firms.The paper presents only the results related to the perceptions of owners/managers and safety inspectors. Information was collected on demographic characteristics of firms and major influencing factors of safety performance such as employee participation in safety decisions, worker willingness to use personal protection measures, and safety training. The analysis of data has produced some interesting results showing the relationship between safety policy and good practices on the one hand and safety performance on the other, even in micro-firms. The safety performance measure, an index comprising several safety performance aspects assessed by the health and safety inspectors, has a positive and statistically significant correlation with the existence of safety policy in a firm, as stated by the owners/managers of firms. It has also a positive and statistically significant association with the written risk assessment of new equipment and the perceived employee willingness to use PPE (personal protection equipment).

This paper is a part of a wider study – funded by EU-OSHA – that has the central aim of describing how the characteristics of the regulatory framework and employment relations tradition affect establishments’ management of health and safety at work. In this quest, a number of countries have been chosen, among them Cyprus, and this paper attempts to present an answer to the aforementioned question in Cyprus. The Cypriot economy is made up of a large number of micro firms (employing fewer than 10 workers). A number of these firms are family owned, creating an unusual and particular economic and work landscape. Also, a relatively large number of workers remain undeclared. By considering and comparing secondary data at the local, national and EU level, the paper attempts to identify and explore the determinants of workplace occupational safety and health within the particular context and conditions in Cyprus.