WORKPLACE SAFETY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT OF STEEL MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between workplace safety management practices and employee commitment of selected steel manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for this study. The design allows the collection of data using the questionnaire at a given point in time. The population is 9 steel manufacturing firms of 759 respondents and the source was gotten from Iron & Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria. For this study, the simple random sampling technique was used. Thus, the sample size of this study was 262 using the Taro Yemane formula. The questionnaire was design in a format that the respondents would respond without stress because they are in a 5-point likert scale starting from Strongly Agreed (SA), Agreed (A), Moderately Agreed (MA), Disagreed (D) strongly disagreed (SD) with relation to the formulated research questions. The Cronbach's Alpha indicates a reliability index of .896 which implies that the instrument was reliable. The study revealed that there is a significant relationship between safety training and employee commitment of selected steel manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. There is a significant relationship between safety policy development and employee commitment of selected steel manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. There is a significant relationship between risk identification and employee commitment of selected steel manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The study establishes a significant positive correlation between workplace safety management practices and employee commitment in steel manufacturing firms in Rivers State. This finding underscores the critical role of effective safety policies in fostering a committed workforce, suggesting that prioritizing safety not only protects employees but also enhances organizational loyalty and performance. The study recommended that Management of steel manufacturing firms should institutionalize regular and role-specific safety training programs to reinforce safety culture, enhance employee confidence in workplace protocols, and thereby strengthen their organizational commitment.