Job Control and Safety Citizenship: Examining the Relationship in Two Companies Based in Midwestern United States

Background: Job demands, or time-based restraints perceived by employees, can have a direct impact on an employee’s level of safety citizenship and safety compliance. However, job control, or the perceived autonomy over the timing and methods of an employee’s work, can help employees manage those job demands. Objective: To assess the relationship between self-reported job control and self-reported safety citizenship. Method: A 34-item survey was used in a cross-sectional study to assess the relationship between self-reported job control scores (JCS) and self-reported safety citizenship (SCS) among employees working at a construction company and distillery/bottling facility in the Midwestern region of the United States. Descriptive statistics (means and frequencies) and an ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) were performed on a saturated model. Results: The study had a 77% response rate. Results indicate a statistically significant association between JCS and SC exists when controlling for job position and sex [F (6, 145) = 40.03, p < 0.00001, adjusted R-square = 0.61]. Conclusion: Employees with low job control have lower levels of self-reported safety citizenship.