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A Study of Accidents in 147 Factories 1
Author(s) -
SLIVNICK PAUL,
KERR WILLARD,
KOSINAR WILLIAM
Publication year - 1957
Publication title -
personnel psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.076
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1744-6570
pISSN - 0031-5826
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6570.1957.tb00765.x
Subject(s) - dominance (genetics) , feeling , social psychology , collective bargaining , psychology , rivalry , demographic economics , business , economics , labour economics , biochemistry , chemistry , gene , macroeconomics
Summary A ccident severity and frequency were correlated with each of 75 other variables in 147 factories in the automotive and machine shop industry, as listed in the membership rolls of the Automotive and Machine Shop Section of the National Safety Council. 1. Accident frequency is associated with seasonal layoffs rate, poor attitude of co‐workers toward high producers, small plants, easy access to prostitutes, other plants about, frequent handling of heavy materials, blighted living conditions, and garnisheed wages. 2. Accident severity is associated with non‐equalitarian eating, national union strength, no stated penalty for tardiness, no employee profit‐sharing plan, extreme workplace peratures, and “dirty‐sweaty” work. 3. Many of these significant correlates seem to show in common the operation of persistent threat to, or undermining of, the status or comfort of the individual as an individual (seasonal layoffs, rivalry‐hostility among ability‐unmatched workers, extreme social distance in eating practices, dominance of the national organization in collective bargaining, no incentive of sharing in profits, heavy and dirty work). The loss of, or threat to, individuality may produce preoccupation which in turn is unsafe behavior. 4. Another group of correlates of unsafe behavior relate to morality and urban sociology (prostitution, congestion, and, frequently, ugliness of other plants about, ugliness and bad living conditions of blighted neighborhoods, garnisheed wages). The mechanics of these associations are unclear but may in‐ volve excessive loading of guilt feelings, excessive instability of human, especially family, relationships, and related preoccupying frustrations. Some of these relations probably bear a causal significance for accidents whereas for others the apparent relationship merely artifactual of some more underlying cause. Many these relationships are here investigated for the first time, it is hoped that confirmatory studies by other researchers be forthcoming.