The effect of job insecurity and restructuring on the safety performance in the chemical manufacturing industry

Abstract

Background: Since the implementation of the new Sasol business model, the recordable incident case rate at the Sasol chemical operations plant, increased dramatically. It is therefore imperative that attention is focused on understanding the factors that lead to this unexplained sharp rise in recorded cases. In this research project, the aim is to test the influence, if any, that the restructuring of the business had on the safety performance of Sasol’s chemical operations. For the management team of the Nitro unit, it is important to have the relevant information. It is also important to provide the management of Sasol’s chemical operations with the relevant data regarding the possible influence that the restructuring process had on the business unit. This will aid in understanding the impact it might have had and can lead to possible management strategies being instituted to prevent such negative consequences in future. Management needs to understand the possible impact that the restructuring had on the employees’ job security and whether this had directly affected the safety performance of the employees. Methods: In September 2016, 174 employees from Nitro, a division of Sasol’s chemical operations, were sampled; a total of 110 responded (response rate of 63.21%). The respondents were from different departments in the division. They completed a questionnaire which included four constructs, namely restructuring, job insecurity, risk taking and workplace injuries. The data was analysed with SPSS. Results and conclusion: Eighty-nine percent of the respondents were male, which corresponded with the gender composition of the organisation. On average, employees had worked at the company for 14.15 years. A total of 41.5% of the employees did not have a grade 12 qualification, with 5.3% reporting a graduate/higher diploma. From the group, 78% of the respondents fell into the production department and shift schedule. The results of this study confirm that there is a moderate relationship between restructuring, job insecurity/uncertainty and workplace injuries. The results of this study confirmed previous research suggesting that restructuring is related to safety performance. It is important to note that job insecurity is related to workplace injuries. Recommendations: In a climate of restructuring, it is imperative that the organisation carefully considers the messages being conveyed to the employees who are seeking clues to the optimal means of retaining their jobs. The results of this study suggest that organisations that embark on restructuring must display clear signals, demonstrating the importance of safety. Job insecurity may contribute to negative safety outcomes. The unwanted results of job insecurity might be minimized to an extent by an organisation’s strong safety culture. The present findings clearly show that individual differences in perception regarding an organisation’s restructuring, moderate its safety outcomes. It is, therefore, important for an organisation to deal with restructuring in the form of organisational change and complete an organisational-level diagnosis. The restructuring of an organisation influences the organisation on group as well as individual level, therefore a complete change management approach should be initialised.