Iran Occupational Health

Background and aims: The impact of work-related accidents due to multiple psychological consequences, financial and material outcomes, is in the focus of industrial and organizational psychology, management and health and safety specialist’s attention. For this purpose, this study aimed to compare personality characteristics and attitude towards safety among injured and non- injured workers was conducted in a large industrial plant.

Methods: This research is done with the method Causal-comparative and sample of 32 persons of injured and 30 persons non- injured that were selected randomly, and for data collection questionnaire of Personality Traits and questionnaire of safety attitudes were used, both questionnaires have satisfactory reliability and validity. Findings were analyzed by use of multivariable analysis of variances and t test for independent groups. Analyzing and comparing is done by SPSS software version 16.

Results: Scores of injured workers in the personality  characteristic components as  neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and attitude towards safety for injured workers are respectively 2/58, 3/39, 3/21, 3/51, 3/91 and 3/71, and  for non- injured workers 2/48, 3/52, 3/25, 3/55, 3/90, 3/92 respectively. Despite the existence of differences between injured and non- injured workers in the scores of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and attitude towards safety, but the differences was not significant (p <0/05).

Conclusion: According to existence of differences between scores of personality characteristic components and attitudes toward safety among injured and non- injured workers and lack of significant differences in research findings, it is likely that the one of most causes of many occupational accidents in the industry is   insecure environment. Hence, attention to safe work environment should be the first priority for officials and industry executives.