Worker attitude affects work safety

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on July 30, 2008
Filed Under Work Behaviour

Given the number of people that get sick after eating in a restaurant, you have to question the effectiveness of food safety practices. Now, the value of food safety training programmes has been called into question, according to recent research.

It is not just about teaching staff what to do, it is also about their attitude to, or their intention to perform, the desired safety practices. In other words, they may know what to do, but do they intend doing it?

The study, published in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, said that providing workers with training that does not target their attitudes may not improve food safety results.

Researchers from Kansas State University surveyed 190 food service employees in 31 restaurants across three Midwestern (US) states on their knowledge of, and attitude toward, three food safety measures that have the most substantial impact on public health: hand washing, using thermometers and proper handling of food contact surfaces. Only employees whose jobs directly involved food preparation tasks participated.

Employees’ attitudes were the one consistent predictor of intentions for performing all three behaviors. However, a unique combination of important predictors existed for each separate behavior. Interventions for improving employees’ behavioural intentions for food safety should focus on components that predict intentions for each behaviour and should bring all employees’ beliefs in line with those of the employees who already intend to perform the food safety behaviors.

“While emphasis should be placed on training, it is also important to educate employees regarding positive outcomes of food safety such as decreasing patrons’ risk of food-borne illness, reducing the spread of microorganisms and keeping the work environment clean,” the researchers said in a statement.