Investigating the Relationship between Safety Climate, Occupational Stress, Occupational Fatigue, and Self-Esteem among Employees of a Military Industrial Unit

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 Department of Health, Safety and Environment, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Environment, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and Aim: Assessing the organizational safety climate is crucial for guiding managerial behavior and improving safety performance. Psychosocial occupational factors such as occupational stress, fatigue, and self-esteem also influence safety outcomes. This study aimed to simultaneously investigate the bidirectional relationships between safety climate and these three variables in a military industrial unit.
Methods: In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study conducted in 2023, 200 employees from a military industrial unit in Tehran were selected through voluntary census sampling. Data were collected using validated questionnaires: the Loughborough Safety Climate Assessment Tool (LSCAT) for safety climate, the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI) for occupational fatigue, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) questionnaire for occupational stress, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 26, utilizing the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality, Spearman’s correlation for assessing relationships, and multiple linear regression for predicting safety climate.
Results: A significant inverse relationship was found between safety climate and occupational fatigue (r = -0.251, P<0.001), while a significant direct correlation was observed between safety climate and occupational stress (r = +0.515, P<0.001). Occupational stress and fatigue also showed a significant positive correlation (r = +0.373, P<0.001). Regression analysis indicated that only occupational stress significantly predicted safety climate (β = 0.470, P<0.001; adjusted R² = 0.235). No significant association was found between self-esteem and any of the other variables.
Conclusion: Improving the organizational safety climate, particularly by prioritizing safety and risk perception, is associated with reduced occupational stress and fatigue. Implementing structured stress management programs and self-esteem enhancement interventions, despite their non-significant statistical association in the final model, is recommended as complementary strategies. Investment in structured, culture-centered safety programs is essential to reduce workplace accidents.

Keywords

Journal of Military Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 3 - Serial Number 133
September and October 2025
Pages 2868-2880

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