Effectiveness of Occupational Health and Safety Practices for Employees in Workplaces: A Meta-Analysis Study

The use of new machines in production lines due to technological developments makes business ecosystems more complex every day. In parallel with the changes experienced, the diversity and impact level of risks pose serious threats to employees, businesses, and the environment. Ensuring the sustainability of production can be achieved through effective and comprehensive occupational health and safety practices. Risk assessments, checklists and emergency plans are some of these practices. This study is a study conducted to reveal the impact levels of practices aimed at improving occupational health and safety. Meta-analysis method was used in the study. The data used in the analysis were obtained by searching Web of Science, Google Scholar, YÖK (The Council of Higher Education), PubMed, EBSCOhost databases without any time limitation until 31.01.2024. As a result of the comprehensive search, it was determined that 20 studies were suitable for the analysis. These studies were then included in the analysis and synthesized by meta-analysis. As a result of this meta-analysis, it was determined that occupational health and safety practices for employees were effective (SMD: 0.924, 95% CI:-0.494-1.354, Z=4.214, p=0.000, I2= 98.670%, Q=1428.054). The analysis results revealed that the variance between the studies was statistically significant (p<0.05). Additionally, occupational health and safety practices were found to enhance employees' sense of security and productivity, reduce workplace accidents and occupational diseases, and make a significant contribution to the development of a safety culture.