Open AccessA Near Miss: The Lived Experiences of Telecommunication Technicians’ Injurious Accidents and Near Misses
Author(s) -
Bridgette M. Hester,
Patricia I Fusch
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4590
Subject(s) - near miss , technician , enforcement , qualitative research , occupational safety and health , accident (philosophy) , safety behaviors , safety culture , applied psychology , perception , crew , psychology , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , public relations , engineering , forensic engineering , medical emergency , medicine , management , aeronautics , sociology , political science , social science , philosophy , law , pathology , epistemology , neuroscience , electrical engineering , economics
Due to a dearth in the literature, this study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of telecommunication field technicians who have experienced near miss and injurious accidents. Using protection motivation theory (PMT), we sought to explore if, after an accident, a technician would alter behaviors and insights regarding safety practices while executing their job duties. Participants for this qualitative phenomenological study included six telecommunication technicians with an average of 19 years’ experience and who had experienced an injurious or near miss accident at work. Findings suggested that after experiencing such an event, technicians demonstrated PMT characteristics including a heightened perception of the severity and probability of a threatening event. Technicians also hold themselves and crew members accountable for safety, believe the industry views worker safety as inconsequential, and that companies and oversight entities should be accountable for enforcement of workplace practices. While many factors influence workplace safety, adopting and enforcing a safety climate that encourages safety practices, quality training, and employee input into the safety climate of the organization, could result in lower injurious accident or near miss accident rate, larger profit margins, and also create a culture of safety that is supported and sustained by employees.