Coercive pressures for the implementation of health and safety practices: are they enough?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-07-2018-0196 |
| Published date | 02 August 2019 |
| Date | 02 August 2019 |
| Pages | 1065-1078 |
| Author | Macarena López-Fernández,Susana Pasamar |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
Coercive pressures for the
implementation of health and
safety practices: are they enough?
Macarena López-Fernández
University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain, and
Susana Pasamar
Department of Business Administration and Marketing,
University of Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine why companies are placing increasing importance on
implementing occupational health and safety (OHS) practices, and to analyse their reasons for adopting these
practices. Specifically, it is asked whether OHS practices are introduced as a result of coercive pressures.
The different ways companies respond to these pressures is also explored.
Design/methodology/approach –A quantitative data analysis technique was used to analyse the
relationship between the reasons for implementing OHS in a sample of 3,005 Spanish firms, using
the responses to a survey from the Institute for the Prevention of Risk at Work.
Findings –The results revealed t hree different group s of companies in terms of t heir reasons for
implementing OHS prac tices; it was also found that employe r involvement in OHS is higher when the m ain
reason for implementing O HS practices is a real concern t o improve working conditi ons, not simply
coercive pressures.
Practical implications –The results of the study demonstrate the importance of moving from reactive to
proactive management. Practitioners should consider employees’health and safety not only in terms
of an institutional pressure, but as a part of their social responsibility and integral to their business practice.
Public administration should work to reward positive behaviours and not only punish noncompliance.
Originality/value –This paper contributes to a better understanding of the reasons to implement OHS in an
early stage of institutionalisation of these practices, providing an empirical analysis of the reasons behind
employer involvement. This paper is highly relevant for researchers, governments and practitioners.
Keywords Implementation, Health and safety, HRM, Coercive pressures, Non-institutional motivations
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Occupational health and safety (OHS) has steadily gained importance in recent years.
Many organisations view it as a fundamental concern, not only because of the
non-evaluable cost involved when a person loses their life or health, but also because of
the measurable disruption to the company caused by days away from work, the need to
find temporary replacements, health care costs, penalties, firm reputation, relationship
between employer and workers and loss of productivity (Tappura et al., 2014; Biron and
Bamberger, 2012; Fernández-Múñiz et al., 2009; Köper et al., 2009; Ahire and Golhar, 1996).
These consequences highlight the need for organisational actions (managerial policies,
procedures and practices) to eliminate occupational accidents and work-related health
problems and to place greater value on health promotion actions (Harris et al., 2012;
Makin and Winder, 2008).
In the field of human resource management (HRM), the literature on the subject of OHS
has remained outside the mainstream, despite the social and economic significance of
organisational safety issues. The main reason for this is that OHS has been usually dealt
with from either a technical perspective on security (safety), or from a medical perspective,
dealing with how to prevent workplace accidents (Lund and Aarø, 2004). However, this
concern begins to change the last decade. OHS acquires a fundamental role for those
Employee Relations
Vol. 41 No. 5, 2019
pp. 1065-1078
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-07-2018-0196
Received 24 July 2018
Revised 14 November 2018
8 March 2019
Accepted 8 March 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
1065
Implementation
of health and
safety practices
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