Organizational conditions for OHSM: Comparing managers and OHS representatives in organizations with different gender distribution

Background Organizational conditions are important for conducting occupational health and safety management (OHSM), but there is a lack of knowledge about how such conditions differ between the actors involved in OHSM. Furthermore, previous research shows that working conditions differ between organizations with different gender distributions, but there is a lack of knowledge about what this means for the ability to conduct OHSM. Objective The purpose of this quantitative study is to compare managers’ and occupational health and safety (OHS) representatives’ organizational conditions for conducting OHSM in workplaces with different gender distributions. Methods An electronic questionnaire was completed by 206 managers and 267 OHS representatives in 10 different organizations in Sweden who worked in workplaces with different gender distributions. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to investigate differences between managers and OHS representatives, differences between work units with different gender distributions, and the interaction effect between role and gender distribution. The analysis was adjusted for organizational affiliation. Results Managers rated their organizational conditions for working with occupational health and safety issues more favourably than OHS representatives did, with statistically significant differences in 7 of the 13 Variables examined. No differences were found according to the gender distribution of the workplace. Conclusions In conclusion, this study suggests that managers perceive their organizational conditions for conducting OHSM more favourably than OHS representatives do. Furthermore, perceived organizational conditions for conducting OHSM seem to be similar regardless of the gender distribution in the workplace.