Psychosocial safety climate and unsafe behavior among miners in China: the mediating role of work stress and job burnout

Work stress among coal miners may affect health and well-being, which could have safety implications for their work. The purpose of the present study is to explore the mechanism of how psychosocial safety climate, work stress and job burnout impact on the unsafe behavior of miners. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shanxi Province, China during 3 months in 2018. A total of 862 male miners were recruited from 30 coal mines; participants were aged 23-49 years (M = 33.54 yrs), with mining experience of between 4 and 23 years (M = 7.36 yrs). Participants completed a cross-sectional survey which examined psychosocial safety climate, work stress, and burnout of miners. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear modeling were used to explore the mechanisms of psychosocial safety climate on unsafe behavior. Findings revealed that psychosocial safety climate can decrease the miners' unsafe behavior through the mediating role of work stress and job burnout. Ultimately these findings guide for coal administrators to avoid miners' unsafe behavior.