The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Managing the Work Safety Culture in the Construction Industry Companies in Poland

Abstract

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on personal and professional lives of people around the whole world. Numerous enterprises were forced to limit their activities. However, the employees of certain industries, performing work necessary for the normal functioning of the society, have been constantly exposed to epidemiological threats. The construction industry is an example of this. The ongoing threat of the pandemic could have had a significant impact on the workers’ behaviour and perceptions of safety. The work safety culture could have undergone such a change. The main purpose of the article was to determine whether the pandemic influenced the work safety culture in the construction industry. The methodological tool applied was a questionnaire addressed to people who directly supervised work on construction sites. The survey was conducted among 49 Polish enterprises operating in the Silesian Province. The results of the research indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in the work safety culture, most of which were positive. An analysis of the litera-ture on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the safety of workers indicates that publications in this area are primarily aimed at representatives of healthcare, while there are few publications on changes in the area of health and safety in the construction industry. This paper is an attempt to fill this research gap.