Supervisory Safety Practices in the Work-Related Driving Context Presenter: Dr Sharon Newnam Co-authors: Dr Ioni Lewis and Professor Barry Watson

Overview Research program Leadership intervention Broader safety intervention

Extent of the Problem Light vehicles Most common cause of injury and death in the workplace Highest fatalities of occupational groups Higher crash frequency than non-work related drivers

Theoretical development Individual and organisational predictors Supervisors play pivotal role in influencing safety outcomes Supervisory safety practices (SSP) –Frequency of safety-oriented interactions

The work-related driving context Limitations –Visibility –Collection of objective information –Appropriate feedback Safety-related interactions –Safe driving message –Safety reminder –Time management scheduling to avoid unsafe driving

Theoretical framework Integrated within the broader safety context Key factors influencing safety performance –Perceptions of the safety climate –The quality of the exchange relationship [Leader-Member Exchange (LMX] –Perceived role overload

Conceptual model Supervisor Level Safety climate perceptions Driver level Supervisory safety practices LMXSelf-report driving behavior Role overload

Methodology Longitudinal design –Three month intervention (pre and post surveys) –6 time points of monitoring SSP Multi-method design –Supervisors (safety climate) –Drivers nested within supervisory workgroups –Community oriented nurses

Stages of data collection Distribution of surveys Time two: monitoring of supervisory safety practices Distribution of surveys Time 1 Time 2 Time 3 Time 6 Time 5 Time 4 Time oneTime three

Sample Community-oriented nurses Pre-intervention: 105 drivers matched to 22 supervisors Post-intervention: Supervisory safety practices matched to 85 drivers 61% of the sample was retained

Demographics Drivers –90% female, 46 years old, 244 km/week Supervisors –95% female, 8.5 years tenure in agency

Analyses H1 –Preacher and Hayes (2008) method for testing the indirect effects in multiple mediator models H2/H3 –Hierarchical linear modelling to test the cross- level relationship and cross-level interaction

Results Supervisor Level Safety climate perceptions Driver level Supervisory safety practices LMXSelf-report driving behavior Work overload

Interaction effects

Conclusions Quality of the exchange relationship and safe driving behaviour –Drivers reciprocate valued behaviours based on the attention given to SSP The influence of role overload on the safety climate SSP relationship –Acknowledge the role of supervisors in the safety management of drivers –Deleterious effects of role overload

Questions? Mark your Diaries! International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety Conference (ICADTS T2013) August 2013, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre