The importance of perception of occupational risk to reduce the accident phenomenon: an analysis of the variables

Abstract

The perception of risk is to be understood as the ability to identify a source of danger as soon as possible. It is a personal process, so it is we who decide to face or avoid the risk situation in a subjective way.
This process conditions actions, behaviors, assessments, choices about an entity or a potentially dangerous situation.
The subjective perception of risk is not linear and is not directly proportional to the increase in the dangers; it is
subject to influences and distortions and is linked to psychological, cultural and social aspects.
Not always all aspects of a risky situation are perceived and this can lead to an overestimation or underestimation
of the risk.
I reported the main studies that analyzed the correlation between risk perception and some variables: Being employed
or not, gender, socio-political factors, age, level of education, income level, training and perception of risk, health
status, knowledge of risk, previous injuries, possibility of job control and perception of risk, work experience / seniority, attitude in the workplace, exposure to risk factors, tasks in the same workplace, adoption of adequate protective
behaviors, job satisfaction.
Thinking about safety from a technical and technological point of view is certainly very important but it is not a sufficient condition, behind every accident we have an individual who makes decisions for which it is fundamental, in
order to address the issue of health and safety in a integrated, also consider the man variable in its entirety.