Safety climate and safety performance in construction projects vary at an organization level and group level. However, the differences between supervisors and construction workers are rarely examined. This study compared the safety climate, safety behavior (safety compliance and safety participation), and safety outcomes (injuries, unsafe events, and stress) between these two social groups. The relationships among these variables were also contrasted with each other using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The data were collected from 119 supervisors and 536 site workers at 22 construction projects in China. The results show that four dimensions of safety climate were distinctly different between supervisors and workers, which is consistent with the social identity theory. Two dimensions of the supervisors’ safety behavior were significantly better than those of the workers’ behavior, while supervisors suffered higher stress. The relationships between safety climate and safety behavior were positively associated for both groups. However, the links from safety climate to safety outcomes and from safety behavior to safety outcomes significantly differed between supervisors and construction workers, which revealed a complementation phenomenon. This study sheds light on group-level safety performance research. It also suggests that safety professionals should take group-targeted safety intervention measures and pay more attention to supervisors’ psychological well-being.

Purpose. Leader–member exchange (LMX) has widely been adopted to explore its influence on job performance. However, most previous studies considered LMX as a unidimensional construct and neglected the effects of its subdimensions, thereby reducing its practicality to improve work performance. This study empirically tested the relationship between subdimensions of LMX and safety behaviors, while incorporating communication competence as a mediator. Method. Data were collected from Chinese construction industry workers. The theoretical model was built and checked using the structural equation modeling technique. Results. The affect and contribution dimensions of LMX positively associated with safety behaviors, while the loyalty and professional respect dimensions had negative and no relations with safety behaviors respectively. These findings demonstrate that a multidimensional view on LMX should be taken while checking its effects on safety behaviors. The affect and professional respect dimensions of LMX had indirect effects on safety participation via communication competence, which illustrate the mediating role of communication competence for construction safety. This study sheds lights on safety behavior research based on the theories of LMX. Enhancing the leadership and communication skills of safety staff and fostering a supportive safety atmosphere at sites are suggested to improve construction safety performance.

Objectives. Relationships between safety behavior and its antecedents have been widely studied. However, the psychological decision-making process of construction worker safety behavior (CWSB) is rarely examined from the systematic perspective. Thus, this study constructed the theoretical framework for the decision-making process of CWSB and systematically explored effects of individual factors (education, age and safety knowledge), organizational factors (safety climate and leader–member exchange [LMX]) and psychological factors (psychological capital [PsyCap] and communication competence [CommComp]) on the dynamic performance of CWSB. Methods. Data were collected from the literature and 536 construction workers in China. The theoretical model was tested with the agent-based simulation (ABS) technique. Results. High level of education, safety knowledge, safety climate, LMX, PsyCap and CommComp help to reduce unsafe behavior at the cut-off point. However, the age–safety relationship might present a U-shape, which denotes that reasonable age structure of construction worker groups may be an option for bettering safety performance. The results indicate that the psychological decision-making process of CWSB is not only the result of individual rational decision, but also the product of organizational and psychological impacts. Findings of this study shed lights on safety behavior management practices based on the psychological decision-making process of CWSB.

Safety climate and safety behavior have been proven to be critical for construction safety. However, few studies have systematically tested the influences of demographic characteristics on construction worker safety, especially in the background of China’s construction industry. There is still a gap in the demographics–safety relationship, which may reduce the relevance and effectiveness of safety measures. This study explored the effects of five demographic factors (gender, age, work experience, education level, and employer size) on two safety indicators (safety climate and construction worker safety behavior). The survey data were collected from Chinese construction workers. The t-test and one-way ANOVA methods were adopted to examine the demographic differences. The results show that all five demographic factors have significant effects on safety climate, while three (age, education level, and employer size) have significant influences on construction worker safety behavior. However, the remaining two demographic factors (gender and work experience) do not show significant effects on construction worker safety behavior. The results remind the safety management personnel to take a pragmatic approach and to formulate safety measures based on the demographic characteristics of different worker sub-groups.