Assessing Safety Culture and its Relationship  with Mental Load and Job Stress in the  National Gas Company

Parvin  Sepehr; Mousa  Jabbari; Marzieh  Erfani Fard; Shokoofeh   Rezapour; Kazem   Samimi

doi:10.18502/aoh.v5i4.7978

Parvin Sepehr Department of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, School of Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mousa Jabbari Department of Occupational Health and Safety, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Marzieh Erfani Fard Occupational Health Engineering Department, North Khorasan, Bojnourd, Iran
Shokoofeh Rezapour Occupational Health Engineering Department, North Khorasan, Bojnourd, Iran
Kazem Samimi Department of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, School of Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/aoh.v5i4.7978

Keywords: Safety culture; Mental load; Job stress; Gas

Abstract

Background: Accidents may occur for varying reasons, including unsafe behaviors, which originate from the safety culture of the organization. Job stress and mental load may also be contributory to accidents. This study aimed to assess safety culture and its relationship with mental load and job stress in a national gas company in Iran.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted over a period of one year. This study used the NASA-TLX task load index, a standard questionnaire approved by the American National Institute of Mental Health to measure job stress, and the standard Health and Safety Executive safety culture questionnaire. All personnel was counted, and the total number of employees was 122. Statistical methods of t-test, correlation coefficient, and averaging have been used. Data were collected and analyzed in SPSS software and Microsoft Excel software.

Results: The average mental load of employees was 61.51, i.e., moderate level. The average job stress and employee safety culture were 180.43, i.e., high level, and 331.34, i.e., desired level. The mental load was assessed as moderate, safety culture was optimal, and job stress was high. A significant relation was found between safety culture and mental load (correlation coefficient: -0.278; p = 0.03). Besides, the mental load was significantly related to job stress (correlation coefficient=0.293; p = 0.2).

Conclusion: Controlling stress and reducing the mental load in sensitive work environments is important and can lead to a higher level of safety culture in the organization.