Toward a Model of the Linkages Between Safety Culture and Employee Performance in Gold Mining Companies

Abstract

Safety culture has an impact on motivation and job satisfaction, which are important factors for employee performance. This study was conducted to examine the role of safety culture on employee performance through motivation and job satisfaction, and to identify factors associated with the performance of gold mining employees in East Java, Indonesia. Data was gathered using a sample from the gold mining company in East Java, Indonesia. The authors collected information on safety culture, motivation, job satisfaction, and employee performance and other employee characteristics. Data was collected using a questionnaire and conditional procedural analysis conducted to test the model. The results of data processing using SEM shows that safety culture has a significant effect on motivation and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the authors found that motivation and job satisfaction also have a significant effect on employee performance. The findings suggest that practitioners should put more emphasis on developing safety culture as a priority for company management, and firms put more emphasis on developing safety culture as a priority for company management because the results show that safety culture may have a positive impact on employee performance. Corrective action is needed to optimize the factors that influence safety culture. Prioritizing safety culture, providing training and development for employees, creating a compensation system that encourages employees to excel, and setting clear quality standards are steps that need to be carried out by gold mining companies in East Java to improve company performance. The limitation of this research is that the population is focused on employees of a gold mining company located in East Java. Future studies can use a wider population that can more generalize the findings. Keywords— employee performance, gold mining, job satisfaction, motivation, safety culture.