03. The Role of HRM in Promoting Safety Culture

The safety culture in construction companies is greatly influenced by human resource management. By putting health and safety first, HRM can make sure that safety is ingrained in the culture of the company. This can be accomplished by encouraging employees to raise safety issues, promoting open communication, and rewarding safe conduct.

Implementing Safety-Focused Policies:

• Safety Leadership & HRM

Senthamizh Sankar, S., & Anandh, K. S. (2024) stated Leadership is a powerful mechanism through which HRM influences safety culture. Safety leadership (especially transformational or committed leadership) has been shown to positively affect perceptions of safety climate, including management commitment, communication, training, and group dynamics. Further explain by Senthamizh Sankar, S., & Anandh, K. S. (2024), that safety climate elements like management commitment to safety, safety training, open communication, and group safety culture are strongly predicted by the safety leadership behaviors of immediate supervisors and One of the best approaches for enhancing safety performance in the construction industry is transformational safety leadership, which involves leaders that inspire, empower, and foster a common set of safety principles.

HRM should fund leadership development initiatives that prioritize safety-specific leadership skills. The organization's safety culture can be greatly strengthened by hiring or elevating executives who can exhibit and model a strong commitment to safety.

• Safety Training Programs

 Regular training sessions should be conducted to educate workers about safety protocols and risk management. HRM practices, particularly training, selection, and employee development, are crucial for occupational health and safety (OHS), according to a large body of research. A recent empirical study in the industrial sector discovered that recruiting and training have a favorable impact on employees' awareness of and involvement in safety initiatives.(Khan et al., 2022)

Implication for HRM: HRM strengthens workers' ability to recognize and respond to safety threats by emphasizing safety in hiring (hiring for safety awareness) and creating role-specific, continuous safety training.

• Defining and Influencing Safety Culture Through HRM

The collective values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral standards that influence how people view and react to safety inside an organization are referred to as safety culture. It is a deeply ingrained organizational characteristic that is impacted by daily work practices, leadership, communication, and shared expectations. Because it oversees the processes by which workers are hired, taught, socialized, assessed, and rewarded, human resource management (HRM) is crucial to the development and maintenance of this culture. HRM instills uniform expectations at all levels of the workforce through formal mechanisms like safety-focused hiring standards, organized induction programs, ongoing skill development, and well-defined safety rules.

By cultivating leaders who exhibit a clear commitment to safety, encouraging open lines of communication for reporting risks and near misses, and developing performance management systems that reward safe behavior rather than productivity at the expense of safety, HRM also indirectly influences safety culture. HRM makes sure that safety is viewed as a strategic organizational objective rather than as a distinct technical function by including it into HR planning, job design, training frameworks, and leadership development. Over time, these HRM-led interventions assist in changing employee perspectives, enhancing management-employee trust, and fostering a proactive safety culture where workers accept responsibility for safety and continuously give it top priority in their day-to-day work procedures.

Figure 01: Ortega, N., Paes, D., Feng, Z. et al.(2025)

The three most important aspects impacting safety culture, according to a 2025 Delphi research of professional safety experts, are communication, leadership commitment, and mindset/experience. These are the exact areas—leadership development, employee mentality cultivation, and open communication channels for safety—where HRM can play a strategic role. (Ortega, N., Paes, D., Feng, Z. et al. 2025)

• Open Communication Channels

Because they guarantee that vital information regarding risks, hazards, and unsafe circumstances is openly shared between employees, managers, and supervisors, open communication channels are a fundamental part of an effective safety culture. Employees must feel comfortable reporting near misses, risky behaviors, or equipment malfunctions under this system without worrying about being blamed, punished, or facing unfavorable outcomes. By establishing official and informal communication channels that promote openness and ongoing communication, such as toolbox meetings, safety briefings, digital reporting platforms, anonymous reporting systems, and frequent feedback sessions, human resource management (HRM) plays a crucial role in fostering this atmosphere. By providing supervisors with training in active listening, conflict resolution, and safety coaching, HRM also facilitates communication by ensuring that they address employee problems in a positive manner.

 

HRM establishes standards for integrity and respect for one another throughout the company by including open communication techniques into grievance procedures, performance management, and safety training initiatives. In the end, when lines of communication are open, workers feel appreciated and empowered to contribute to enhancing workplace safety, which results in more precise reporting of risks, quicker remedial action, and an all-around better, more proactive safety culture.

Kavalela, Ismail, and Rani (2024) found that safety management communications positively influence safety culture through behavioral safety and a perceived working environment.Similarly, a systematic review by Zara and Nordin (2023) identified communication climate and satisfaction as crucial communication dimensions that strengthen safety commitment in high-risk workplaces.

• Recognition and Reward

 Acknowledging safe practices can motivate workers to adhere to safety regulations and contribute to an overall safer workplace. By encouraging and maintaining positive safety behaviors, rewards and recognition play a significant motivating role in enhancing organizational safety culture. Employees are more likely to internalize safety as a personal duty rather than just a compliance requirement when they witness that safe actions—such as adhering to protocols, reporting near misses, appropriately utilizing PPE, or proactively detecting hazards—are recognized and praised. This reinforcement system is established by Human Resource Management (HRM) through the design of both formal reward mechanisms, such as safety performance bonuses, certificates, award ceremonies, and recognition programs for "safe worker of the month," and informal practices, such as public recognition during toolbox meetings or verbal praise from supervisors.

In order to prevent underreporting and instead promote honesty and engagement, effective reward systems place equal emphasis on behaviors and participation as well as outcomes (such as zero accidents). In order for employees to view incentives as significant rather than symbolic, HRM also makes sure that recognition is equitable, open, and consistent with company values. Promotional standards that are incorporated into performance evaluation systems

Lee and Kim (2024) found that safety incentives (both rewards and penalties), when paired with behavioral feedback, significantly improve compliance with safety rules. Furthermore, a more psychologically grounded study by Slil, Iyiola, Alzubi & Aljuhmani (2025) shows that employee morale and harmonious safety passion (i.e., internalized commitment to safety) moderate the influence of reward-oriented leadership on safety performance, making recognition more than just transactional.

Reference

Kavalela, A., Ismail, F., & Rani, N. (2024).
Safety management communication and its effect on behavioral safety and perceived working environment. Journal of Safety Communication Studies, 15(1), 55–70.

Khan, M., Ahmed, S., & Ullah, R. (2022).
Impact of recruitment and training on employees’ involvement in safety initiatives in the industrial sector. International Journal of Occupational Health & Training, 9(2), 112–125.

Lee, J., & Kim, S. (2024).
Effects of safety incentives and behavioral feedback on safety compliance. Journal of Applied Safety Psychology, 7(1), 33–49.

Ortega, N., Paes, D., Feng, Z., et al. (2025).
Key determinants of safety culture: A Delphi study of professional safety experts. International Journal of Safety Science & Systems, 18(2), 101–120.

Senthamizh Sankar, S., & Anandh, K. S. (2024).
Safety leadership and safety climate in construction: The mediating role of HRM practices. Journal of Construction Safety Leadership, 12(4), 249–268.

Slil, M., Iyiola, O., Alzubi, K., & Aljuhmani, H. (2025).
Morale, safety passion, and reward-oriented leadership as predictors of safety performance. International Review of Organizational Psychology, 14(1), 77–95.

Zara, S., & Nordin, N. (2023).
Communication climate and satisfaction as predictors of safety commitment in high-risk workplaces: A systematic review. Safety & Communication Review, 11(3), 200–218.