Effect of perceived risk on nuclear power plant operators’ safety behavior and errors

Abstract

Safety behavior and human errors are major concerns for nuclear power plant operators. The present study investigated how nuclear power plant operators’ perceived risk influences the quality of their own work performance in terms of safety behavior and errors. In total, 349 operators from two nuclear power plants in China participated in the present study. We found that perceived risk had a negative linear relationship with safety behavior and a quadratic relationship with errors. Leader support played a moderating role in the relationships between perceived risk, safety behavior, and errors. These results supported the job demands–resources model and provided further evidence for the relationship between perceived risk and outcomes related to safety behavior and errors. Our findings suggest that an effective way to address the issue of high perceived risk is to provide a supportive environment.