The effects of workplace stress and various types of safety interventions on the intention of retail industry workers to violate safety rules: A questionnaire study

Background Previous research has linked job demands and resources to safety behavior. While most studies focus on habitual safety behaviors, responses under dynamic conditions remain less explored. We focus on the influence of workplace factors (job demands, job resources, and management commitment to safety) on employees’ safety behaviors to prevent slip and fall incidents. Slip and fall incidents represent major occupational hazards, with retail workers experiencing higher accident rates than the general workforce does. Methods We recruited 146 supermarket employees in Japan through an online survey panel. The survey comprisesthree parts: demographics, workplace factors, and scenario-based items. Workplace factors included work overload, job control, interpersonal support, and fall prevention measures. The scenario-based items presented six situations where workers could reduce time or social pressures by violating safety rules, and participants rated their intentions, perceived benefits, and perceived risks of safety violations on visual analog scales. Path analysis was conducted using R. Results After exclusions, 118 supermarket employees (mean age = 51 years) were analyzed. Path analysis indicated that a lack of job control increased perceived time-saving benefits and that work overload increased fall risk recognition. Conversely, a greater variety of workplace prevention measures reduced both perceived stress-reduction and time-saving benefits. Perceived time-saving and stress-reduction benefits were positively associated with the intention to violate safety rules, whereas fall risk recognition was negatively associated. Indirect effects were also observed: prevention measures reduced the intention to violate rules via lowered perceived benefits, and lack of job control marginally increased intentions through stress-reduction benefits. Conclusions This study explored supermarket employees’ intentions to violate safety rules, considering job demands, resources, and perceived benefits and risks. Perceived time-saving benefits had the strongest influence on employees’ intentions to violate safety rules, reflecting the role of acute time pressure. In contrast, work overload increasesfall risk recognition. The variety of fall prevention measures indirectly reduced violation intentions by lowering perceived benefits, suggesting that management’s commitment to safety shapes a culture where rule violations are seen as less advantageous. Overall, perceptions of workplace safety mediate the link between conditions and behaviors.