Work Meaningfulness: A Moderator in the Relationship Between Causal Attributions and Safety Performance of Ghanaian Local Artisans

Abstract

The health and safety of workers, irrespective of the type of work, is crucial for the growth of the economy and the well-being of the workforce. Several studies have been conducted in the formal sector to find out the antecedents, correlates, determinants or predictors of safety performance. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies regarding the health and safety of workers in the informal sector. This study investigated the extent to which causal attributions predict safety performance among Ghanaian local artisans and the moderating role of their perception of how meaningful their work is to them. One hundred and seventy-seven workers (172 males and 5 females) involved in welding and fabrication, auto-mechanics, auto spraying and vulcanizing purposively sampled were studied in a cross-sectional survey. The results showed that both external and internal causal attributions significantly predicted safety performance of the artisans, with external relating stronger to safety performance than internal attributions. When meaningfulness of work was entered into the equation, the effect of external attribution was still significant, but internal attribution was not. Meaningfulness of work moderated the effect of internal (but not external) causal attribution on safety performance. The practical significance and implications for further research were discussed.