The Relationships between Employees’ Motivation and the Safety Level at a Mining Enterprise

Dynamically changing market conditions require increasing workflow efficiency at a mining enterprise, which enhances its stability in the commodity market. Restricted resources at the enterprise lead to a situation when production volumes become most prioritized, often to the detriment of production safety. At the same time, production safety is the basis on which enterprise stability is built. The enterprise safety must be controlled via the reduction of risk of negative events. Increasing control efficiency is based on the desire of employees to implement the control, which, in turn, is ensured by employee’s motivation for such activities. Based on Maslow’s human needs pyramid, it is possible to determine the needs of personnel; meeting these needs will motivate employees for occupational safety activities. According to the pyramid, physiological human needs are basic. In conditions of production, these needs are met by establishing optimal or acceptable working conditions characterized by the class of working conditions. The need for safety is classified as a higher-level need; in conditions of production, it is ensured by establishing safe working conditions. The safety level can be evaluated using the safety index. Social needs are on the third level of the hierarchy. Evaluation of the level of motivating factors enables a potential satisfaction of employee’s needs, assessment of his/her motivation for the implementation of occupational safety measures, and forecasting the level of safety to be ensured.