EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF MANAGEMENT SAFETY COMMITMENT ON EMPLOYEES’ SAFETY BEHAVIOR IN OMAN’S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Ismail Al-Zadjali; Saida Al-Zadjali

doi:10.5281/zenodo.23037507

Abstract

The oil and gas sector are high-work-risk industries with complex operations, and effective safety management is
crucial to ensure the safety of their workers and to continue reliable operations. In this high-risk environment,
safety commitment by management can significantly influence employees' perceptions, attitudes and day-to-day
safety behavior. However, more needs to be done to focus on employee experiences and culture to better
understand how they see and experience management's commitment to safety. This study takes an approach of
qualitative research to examine how management safety commitment affects the behavior of employees towards
safety in the oil and gas sector in Oman. The study aims to investigate what employees expect in terms of
management commitment to safety, the role of management practices in determining safety compliance and
participation and organizational factors that help or hinder positive safety behavior. The data are proposed to be
collected using semi-structured interviews of the participants (employees) from the oil and gas sector in Oman
and will be analysed thematically in order to detect the commonalities and patterns that exist. This study will
enable a better understanding of the factors that affect employees' attitudes towards participating in safe workplace
practices and following safety procedures, including visible management support, communication of safety,
provision of resources, leadership and response to safety concerns. The results will benefit the safety management
literature by providing qualitative evidence for the specific context of Oman and may also provide practical
implications to enhance safety leadership, employee engagement and safety practices in the oil and gas industry

Keywords

Management Safety Commitment, Employee Safety Behavior, Safety Leadership, Safety Climate, Oman Oil and Gas Industry

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