Development of a Work Safety Scale

The goal is the completion of the first phase of the development of the Work Safety Scale that will assess employees' attitudes and beliefs about the relative safety of their present or prior jobs. No single work safety scale exists that is theoretically derived and psychometrically sophisticated, and that samples an adequate content domain. The proposed scale is intended to meet all these criteria. The scale will be tested and cross-validated using two independent samples and will measure five content areas: 1) job safety, 2) coworker safety, 3) supervisor safety, 4) management safety, and 5) satisfaction with the safety program. In Phase I, the psychometric properties (especially the reliability) of the scale will be determined. Various approaches of providing evidence of validity will be used in Phase Il. A reliable and valid work safety scale will be of academic interest and should help private industry control costs related to industrial injury.