Determination of the perceptions of municipal employees towards occupational health and safety and a model proposal for the formation of occupational health and safety culture

Significant changes have emerged in working life with the Industrial Revolution and the concept of occupational health and safety (OHS) has arisen as a need. In today's world, OHS has become an important area that covers the rights and responsibilities of employees, employers and the state. This study analyses the occupational health and safety practices, institutionalisation process and safety culture of a Metropolitan Municipality, which has a very important and inclusive role in Turkey, provides services on a 24-hour basis and has a very wide range of services, from less hazardous to highly hazardous works, with simultaneous supervision and enforcement. The study involved face-to-face interviews with 856 employees working in the municipality and the findings were analysed and interpreted using SPSS software. The effect of demographic factors such as education, gender and experience on OHS and the importance given to safety culture were analysed. The findings show that the municipality has taken important steps towards institutionalisation, male employees working in the field attach more importance to safety culture and the prioritisation of OHS by managers plays a critical role. In addition, according to the survey results, OHS practices positively affect the general safety perception of municipality employees. These results reveal that training and awareness raising activities should be increased in order for OHS to become a corporate culture in the municipal administration. The survey data were analysed with statistical methods and it was confirmed that the results obtained were consistent.