Unintended consequences: organizational practices and their impact on workplace safety and productivity.

Managers often implement new organizational practices to improve firm performance while neglecting possible side effects. This study examines the relationship between 6 organizational practices and both productivity and injury rates in 86 small manufacturing firms. The use of performance-based pay was associated with higher injury rates and lower productivity (on 1 of 2 measures). The opposite pattern held for training: Training hours were negatively related to the injury rate and positively related to 1 measure of productivity. Surprisingly, higher hours worked per week was associated with a lower injury rate and also with lower productivity. The use of teams was associated with a lower injury rate but was unrelated to productivity. The potential interaction between hazard control measures and organizational practices in predicting injury rates is also discussed.