The building blocks of occupational health and safety management: profiles of preconditions and their links to practices among Swedish welfare organizations

Purpose The study aimed to identify profiles of organizational preconditions for occupational health and safety management (OHSM) and investigate their links to the perceived success and quality of the OHSM in different workplaces. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was distributed among public and private organizations in the Swedish welfare sector; 113 responses were analyzed. Latent profile analysis was employed to identify profiles based on five key preconditions for OHSM: access to resources, relevant knowledge, appropriate methods, sufficient budget and leadership support for investment in OHSM. Findings Four distinct profiles of organizational preconditions for OHSM were identified: “Prosperous foundations”, “Deficient in know-how”, “Balanced but limited” and “Lacking investments”. Public sector organizations were more likely to be found in profiles with poorer preconditions (deficient in know-how and lacking investments), while private organizations had greater representation in the profile with the strongest preconditions (prosperous foundations). Profiles differed in relation to employers’ perceptions of the role of OHSM in promoting health, whereby organizations with better preconditions reported better performance. “Deficient in know-how” organizations reported implementing the lowest proportion of promotive/preventive and organizational-level initiatives. Organizations with “prosperous foundations” and “balanced but limited” profiles demonstrated higher involvement of internal experts, safety delegates/union representatives and employees. Originality/value By linking the revealed profiles to sector characteristics and the OHSM, the research provides novel insights into the complex interplay between organizational preconditions and the implementation of effective OHSM activities. Lack of relevant knowledge and appropriate working methods for OHSM were linked to poorer quality of OHSM activities, suggesting the importance of investing in organizational OHSM know-how.