Assessment of Occupational Safety Culture Among Employees in a Textile Workplace in Istanbul

Abstract

Occupational safety culture is widely recognized as a key leading indicator for the prevention of workplace accidents and serves as a critical instrument for identifying organizational safety deficiencies and guiding continuous improvement processes. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the safety culture levels among employees working in the dyeing and printing units of a textile company in Istanbul and to provide evidence-based insights to support the enhancement of corporate safety culture by sharing the findings with the organization. This cross-sectional study included the entire population of 182 employees, with data collected from 181 participants. Data collection instruments included the 48-item Occupational Safety Culture Questionnaire developed by Demirbilek, alongside a 15-item descriptive information form, both administered in a supervised setting to ensure data quality. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests for comparisons between two groups, Kruskal-Wallis tests for comparisons among multiple groups, and Spearman correlation coefficients to examine inter-dimensional relationships. The mean age of participants was $33.87 \pm 10.14$ years, and $38.1\%$ were female. The overall reliability of the questionnaire, measured by Cronbach’s alpha, was $0.93$, and mean scores across safety culture dimensions were generally positive. Notably, safety culture scores were significantly higher among employees aged 46 and above, university graduates, those reporting good economic status, employees in non-worker positions (e.g., managers or engineers), individuals with 16 or more years of tenure, employees who did not regularly work overtime, and those who had not experienced an occupational accident. Correlation analysis revealed positive and significant associations between Management Commitment and both Safety Priority and Safety Communication, between Safety Priority and Safety Communication, and between Safety Training and Perception. These findings underscore the importance of implementing tailored interventions targeting diverse demographic and occupational groups to strengthen organizational safety culture. Specifically, enhancing the dimension of safety participation is a priority for improving overall safety performance. Practical training programs, management strategies that actively encourage employee engagement, and learning processes aligned with real risk experiences are essential for the sustainable development and reinforcement of safety culture within the organization.