Safety and Health at Work Vol. 14 Issue 2 2023
Beliefs of University Employees Leaving During a Fire Alarm: A Theory-based Belief Elicitation (Original article)
Dublin Core
Title
Safety and Health at Work Vol. 14 Issue 2 2023
Beliefs of University Employees Leaving During a Fire Alarm: A Theory-based Belief Elicitation (Original article)
Beliefs of University Employees Leaving During a Fire Alarm: A Theory-based Belief Elicitation (Original article)
Subject
Beliefs, Employees, Evacuation, Fire alarms, Reasoned Action Approach
Description
Background: Despite workplaces having policies on fire evacuation, many employees still fail to evacuate when there is a fire alarm. The Reasoned Action Approach is designed to reveal the beliefs underlying
people’s behavioral decisions and thus suggests causal determinants to be addressed with interventions designed to facilitate behavior. This study is a uses a Reasoned Action Approach salient belief elicitation
to identify university employees’ perceived advantages/disadvantages, approvers/disapprovers, and facilitators/barriers toward them leaving the office building immediately the next time they hear a fire alarm at work.
Methods: Employees at a large public United States Midwestern university completed an online cross- sectional survey. A descriptive analysis of the demographic and background variables was completed,
and a six-step inductive content analysis of the open-ended responses was conducted to identify beliefs about leaving during a fire alarm.
Results: Regarding consequence, participants perceived that immediately leaving during a fire alarm at work had more disadvantages than advantages, such as low risk perception. Regarding referents, su-
pervisors and coworkers were significant approvers with intention to leave immediately. None of the perceived advantages were significant with intention. Participants listed access and risk perception as
significant circumstances with the intention to evacuate immediately.
Conclusion: Norms and risk perceptions are key determinants that may influence employees to evacuate immediately during a fire alarm at work. Normative-based and attitude-based interventions may prove
effective in increasing the fire safety practices of employees.
people’s behavioral decisions and thus suggests causal determinants to be addressed with interventions designed to facilitate behavior. This study is a uses a Reasoned Action Approach salient belief elicitation
to identify university employees’ perceived advantages/disadvantages, approvers/disapprovers, and facilitators/barriers toward them leaving the office building immediately the next time they hear a fire alarm at work.
Methods: Employees at a large public United States Midwestern university completed an online cross- sectional survey. A descriptive analysis of the demographic and background variables was completed,
and a six-step inductive content analysis of the open-ended responses was conducted to identify beliefs about leaving during a fire alarm.
Results: Regarding consequence, participants perceived that immediately leaving during a fire alarm at work had more disadvantages than advantages, such as low risk perception. Regarding referents, su-
pervisors and coworkers were significant approvers with intention to leave immediately. None of the perceived advantages were significant with intention. Participants listed access and risk perception as
significant circumstances with the intention to evacuate immediately.
Conclusion: Norms and risk perceptions are key determinants that may influence employees to evacuate immediately during a fire alarm at work. Normative-based and attitude-based interventions may prove
effective in increasing the fire safety practices of employees.
Creator
Christopher Owens, Aurora B. Le, Todd D. Smith, Susan E. Middlestadt
Publisher
Elsevier Korea LLC
Date
June 2023
Contributor
Sri Wahyuni
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Text
Coverage
Safety and Health at Work Vol. 14 Issue 2 2023
Files
Citation
Christopher Owens, Aurora B. Le, Todd D. Smith, Susan E. Middlestadt, “Safety and Health at Work Vol. 14 Issue 2 2023
Beliefs of University Employees Leaving During a Fire Alarm: A Theory-based Belief Elicitation (Original article),” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed November 21, 2024, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/2637.
Beliefs of University Employees Leaving During a Fire Alarm: A Theory-based Belief Elicitation (Original article),” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed November 21, 2024, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/2637.