Journal of Safety Research 66 (2018) 1–8

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Journal of Safety Research

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Managing active cultural differences in U.S. construction workplaces:

Perspectives from non-Hispanic workers
Ahmed Jalil Al-Bayati, a,⁎ Osama Abudayyeh, b Alex Albert c
a
Department of Construction Management, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723, United States
b
Civil and Construction Engineering Department, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, United States
c
Dept. of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State Univ., 2501 Stinson Dr., Raleigh, NC 27607, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Introduction: Current census reports indicate a growing shift toward workforce diversity in the U.S. construction
Received 24 November 2017 industry, which is largely the result of increasing participation from the Hispanic community. The data also sug-
Accepted 8 May 2018 gest that the Hispanic workforce suffers a higher rate of fatal injuries compared to their non-Hispanic counter-
Available online 19 May 2018 parts. Therefore, there is a dire need to develop and utilize new management tools and strategies to
accommodate the differences in language and culture of this incoming labor force. Method: The absence of
Keywords:
these tools and strategies poses several challenges including cost overrun, schedule delay, and more importantly,
Hispanic Workforce
The Construction Industry
higher workplace injury rates. This study aims to provide a better understanding of the contribution of cultural
Active Cultural Differences diversity as a factor that may influence the overall site safety. Results: As a result, this study provides further ev-
Hofstede Theory idence that indicate that the current findings regarding the influence of active cultural differences are reliable,
Safety Management valid, and needs attention. Furthermore, the study provides sub-analysis results of cultural values among His-
panic workers, which suggest that workers from Mexico are less likely to speak up on safety issues when com-
pared to other Hispanic workers. Therefore, this study has both practical and theoretical implications for
managing workforce diversity and related safety performance in the U.S. construction industry. The results of
the study can be used by employers and managers to adopt responsive strategies and tools to reduce the likeli-
hood of fatal and nonfatal injuries among Hispanic workers.
© 2018 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Effective communication on construction sites is essential to avoid
errors that affect, among other things, quality, team integration, and
safety. Communication is especially important when it comes to safety
management and injury prevention (Burke, Clarke, & Cooper, 2011;
Törner & Pousette, 2009). Therefore, effective strategies to improve
communication levels at the work interface are increasingly becoming
important for project success – particularly with the increase in diver-
sity among the construction workforce. Diversity is generally defined
as differences among people or groups of people where people within
a group may perceive themselves to be different from others in the
group (Jackson, 1992). The construction workforce in the United States
is shifting toward more diversity with an increasing influx of Hispanic
workers joining the construction workforce. Current estimates suggest
that Hispanic workers account for roughly 30% of the U.S. construction
workforce (Dong, Wang, & Goldenhar, 2016).
With the increase in diversity, desirable and undesirable effects have
been experienced in construction organizations (Mannix & Neale,
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: ajalbayati@wcu.edu, (A.J. Al-Bayati), osama.abudayyeh@wmich.edu,
(O. Abudayyeh), alex_albert@ncsu.edu (A. Albert).
2005). One of the unwanted effects is that communication has become
more challenging with differences in cultural and contextual factors
that go beyond language (Al-Bayati, Abudayyeh, Fredericks, & Butt,
2017a; Flynn, 2014). For example, evidence suggests that safety infor-
mation may not freely flow in diverse work groups that include His-
panic and non-Hispanic workers. Accordingly, the data indicate that
the fatality rate among Hispanic workers is often higher than other
non-Hispanic workers (Al-Bayati et al., 2017a). While evidence also
suggests that the non-fatal injury rates among Hispanic workers is
higher, there is a growing concern that injury rates among Hispanic
workers may be underreported due to financial and legal concerns
and the prevalence of temporary work arrangements (Al-Bayati,
Abudayyeh, Fredericks, & Butt, 2017b; Flynn, Eggerth, & Jacobson,
2015). Among other reasons, cultural differences have been identified
as one of the root causes of higher fatality rates among Hispanic
workers, besides other possible causes including low education levels,
inadequate skill and experience, language proficiency and literacy is-
sues, and immigration status (Jaselskis, Strong, Aveiga, Canales, &
Jahren, 2008; McGlothlin, Hubbard, Aghazadeh, & Hubbard, 2009;
Hurley & Lebbon, 2012; Flynn, 2014; Morrison, 2015).
To overcome communication deficiency, the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that employers translate
training material or hire bilingual personnel to enhance communication

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2018.05.004
0022-4375/© 2018 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 A.J. Al-Bayati et al. / Journal of Safety Research 66 (2018) 1–8
with all employees. However, OSHA has no requirement explicitly man-
dating that employers must manage cultural differences by tailoring
safety training and interventions based on the cultural needs beyond
merely translating the material (O'Connor, Flynn, Weinstock, &
Zanoni, 2014). In general terms, culture is a system of shared beliefs, be-
haviors, and expectations that allows a society to function and maintain
itself. Cultures are dynamic and are continually reproduced and revised
through social interactions as the group and its members adapt to an
evolving geographic, historical, and socio-economic context (Flynn,
Castellanos, & Flores-Andrade, 2018). Because culture is influenced by
one's social position within society there are often sub-cultures and
identities that interact with one another at the organizational, group
and individual level. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how social fac-
tors related to the distribution of power – such as race, ethnicity, gender,
class, and immigration status – influence culture, which can impact how
workers from different backgrounds approach their work and interac-
tions with co-workers, supervisors, and their subordinates. (NIOSH
and ASSE, 2015; Ailon, 2008). To begin addressing this issue, Al-Bayati
et al. (2017a, 2017b) conducted an empirical study using survey instru-
ments and focus group sessions to examine the nature and influence of
cultural differences on U.S. construction sites. The findings revealed
three active cultural differences that directly impact safety on diverse
workplaces: high power distance, collectivism, and uncertainty avoid-
ance. These active cultural difference (ACD) has been shown to substan-
tially affect how safety is practiced and valued at workplaces (Al-Bayati
et al., 2017b). However, more research must be conducted to ensure
that the findings regarding active cultural differences are generalizable
and broadly applicable across the construction industry in the United
States. If such evidence is obtained, techniques to manage active cultural
differences and responsive accident prevention techniques should be
designed and adopted at construction workplaces.
Although past studies have identified a number of interventions to
improve safety performance such as establishing a safety committee,
conducting accident investigations, performing safety audits and house-
keeping efforts, past research has not highlighted the importance of
managing cultural diversity in the U.S. construction industry. The adop-
tion of such techniques could improve safety performance and the effi-
ciency of traditional safety interventions. The current study seeks to
understand the prevalence and nature of ACDs to advance knowledge
that can be fundamental to designing new interventions that target cul-
tural challenges.
2. Active cultural differences in U.S. construction sites
Cultural differences result in different beliefs, behaviors, and expec-
tations between individuals and groups of individuals (Hofstede,
Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010). These differences can lead to unshared as-
sumptions regarding work, safety, and workplace behavior. If such dif-
ferences remain unrecognized and unmanaged, they can result in
miscommunication among workers and their supervisors – which can
adversely affect safety performance. Therefore, it is important for con-
struction supervisors to understand the effect of differences in work-
place culture on workplace behavior and safety (Flynn et al., 2018;
Ling, Dulaimi, & Chua, 2013; Phua, Loosemore, Teo, & Dunn, 2011). To
assess the nature of cultural differences and their possible effects, a the-
ory-based framework is necessary. Most of Hispanic construction
workers in the United States come from Mexico (Bucknor, 2016;
CPWR, 2013). Therefore, the most intuitive approach to assessing cul-
tural differences would be to compare differences between workers
from Mexico and the United States. Although the GLOBE project and
the study by Hofstede examined cultural values, Hofstede theory fo-
cused on the effect of national values, whereas the GLOBE project fo-
cused on the effect of organizational values (Wildman & Griffith,
2015). Hofstede's dimensions are particularly beneficial in illustrating
the basic differences between Hispanic workers and supervisors of
other geographical and cultural decent (Canales et al., 2009). Therefore,
this study will use Hofstede theory as departure point to assess the po-
tential cultural differences among Hispanic workers and construction
supervisors.
According to Hofstede et al. (2010), out of the six national cultural
dimensions, there are only three considerable differences between indi-
viduals representing Mexico and the United States as shown in Fig. 1.
Using the Hofstede's model of culture, Al-Bayati et al. (2017b) found
that these cultural values (high power distance, collectivism, and uncer-
tainty avoidance) were higher among Hispanic workers than non-His-
panic workers in construction workplaces. Furthermore, the findings
of Al-Bayati et al. (2017a) suggest that these cultural differences could
impact the safety behavior and site-level safety performance. The fol-
lowing are potential effects that can arise from the lack of awareness
of active cultural differences (ACDs):
• High Power Distance: Workers in a high-power distance culture may
not communicate safety issues with their supervisors. For example,
Hispanic workers may not express their feeling and concern. Further-
more, they may be willing to accept risk-taking behavior while exe-
cuting planned tasks.
• Collectivism: The main undesirable effect of the collectivistic culture is
the non-trusting environment among the workers from one group
against workers from another group. On the other hand, this cultural
value may help in enforcing site safety, if managed well, since His-
panic workers may tend to take care of each other.
• Uncertainty Avoidance: Workers from a high uncertainty avoidance
culture will strive to get detailed instructions from their supervisors.
Construction supervisors are not providing comprehensive enough
instructions to Hispanic workers as per the findings of Al-Bayati et
al. (2017a).
Construction, by its nature, is a process that requires effective com-
munication between all parties for successful project completion.
Therefore, effective communication channels and positive interactions
are fundamental to success. Negative interactions also called interper-
sonal conflicts at work (ICW) may lead to adverse effects including
work stress and undesirable behavior (De Raeve, Jansen, van den
Brandt, Vasse, & Kant, 2009; Meier, Semmer, & Gross, 2014; Bruk-Lee
& Spector, 2006). Nixon, Mazzola, Bauer, Krueger, and Spector (2011)
suggested that ICWs can result from a wide range of causes such as
work disagreements and disrespectful actions. The lack of attention to
active cultural differences by construction supervisors and workers
can lead to culturally based assumptions, misinterpretations, and inter-
personal conflicts at U.S. construction sites. For example, Chen, McCabe,
and Hyatt (2017) found that interpersonal conflicts can adversely affect
safety performance resulting in more injuries, stress, and losses. There-
fore, more research examining active cultural differences and
recommending national remedies are crucial to improving performance
in U.S. construction workplaces. Fig. 2 illustrates the possible positive ef-
fects of increasing awareness of active cultural differences based on the
findings of Chen et al. (2017) and Al-Bayati et al. (2017b).
3. Research goal and design
Since the concept of active cultural differences (ACDs) in relatively
new, more empirical research on its existence and its influence is neces-
sary. In addition, recent studies that investigated ACDs have used non-
probability samples while collecting data that is extremely common in
construction research (Abowitz & Toole, 2010). While non-probability
techniques provide valuable insights, the generalization of findings to
larger populations is questionable (Fellows & Liu, 2008). To overcome
this, Abowitz and Toole (2010) recommend gathering evidence from
multiple replication studies that examine the same of similar constructs.
Based on this advice, the main objective of the research reported in this
article is to conduct a new empirical study to evaluate recent findings
 A.J. Al-Bayati et al. / Journal of Safety Research 66 (2018) 1–8
US
10
8.1
8 7
6
4
4
2
0
Power Distance
Fig. 1. Differences in national cultural dimensions between United States and Mexico.
regarding ACDs. The previous two studies solicited the observations and
values of construction supervisors and Hispanic workers (Al-Bayati et
al., 2017a, 2017b). This study will seek and report the observations
and values of non-Hispanic workers. The perspectives of non-Hispanic
construction workers provide an essential point for comparison with
the previously collected data to highlight the different cultural percep-
tions between groups. A survey instrument was designed to collect
the perspectives of non-Hispanic workers regarding the three differ-
ences in Hofstede cultural dimensions (i.e., power distance, collectivism,
and uncertainty avoidance). The survey aims to assess the existence and
influence of differences in these values between Hispanic and non-His-
panic workers. Therefore, survey questions were similar to those of the
Hispanic workers' study described in Al-Bayati et al. (2017b) to enable
meaningful comparisons of the perspectives of these two groups. The
agreement between this study and the previous two studies regarding
ACDs, if achieved, will reinforce the findings regarding the issues of ac-
tive cultural differences. It is important to note that this research at-
tempts to deal with cultural issues and differences while taking into
account that no cultural values are better than others. It is also under-
standable that the differences in cultural values within U.S. and other
non-Hispanic workers do exist. However, the current representation
and expected increase in the number of Hispanic construction workers
and the higher fatal and non-fatal injury rates among them suggest that
additional investigations in this area are important.
This article also re-visits the Hispanic workers' survey raw data that
has been used in Al-Bayati et al. (2017b) to conduct a sub-sample anal-
ysis to assess the cultural differences among Hispanic workers them-
selves. Foreign-born Hispanic construction workers in U.S.
construction sites come from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador,
Fig. 2. The influence of clear communication on the outcomes of construction projects.
3
Mexico
8.2
4.6
0.9
Collectivism Uncertainty Avoidance
and Peru. Therefore, the sub-sample analysis is an important task to as-
sess the differences in their cultural values. Based on the findings, differ-
ent recommendations may be required based on workers' nationality.
Finally, this article discusses how managing active cultural differences
can act as an accident prevention strategy. The results of this study
will help identify active cultural differences and the role they play in
workplace safety. This is the first step in developing strategies for man-
aging these differences to improve overall site safety and productivity.
4. The findings
4.1. Non-Hispanic workers survey
Western Michigan University's Human Subject Institutional Review
Board (HSIRB) reviewed and approved the research protocol in October
2016. The survey was administered online and in-person by the re-
search team at Western Michigan University over a period of one
month, and 45 valid responses were received from non-Hispanic
workers by the end of December 2016. However, not all questions
have been answered in the 45 valid responses. As a result, the total
number of answers per question is different. To assess high power dis-
tance, the non- Hispanic workers were asked about their comfort level
when speaking up about unsafe tasks and if they can easily express
their safety concerns to their supervisors. The results of power distance
assessment show that all participants (100%) indicate that they can
comfortability talk to their supervisors about unsafe conditions. Fur-
thermore, 97.7% of non-Hispanic workers who participated in this
study indicated that their supervisors would try to make the task safer
when they spoke up. This differs from the responses of the Hispanic
4 A.J. Al-Bayati et al. / Journal of Safety Research 66 (2018) 1–8
workers as observed in Al-Bayati et al. (2017b) where 59% of partici-
pants indicated that they are less likely to ask their supervisors when
the task is unsafe (i.e., they cannot comfortability talk to their supervi-
sors). According to data from the focus groups with Hispanic workers
in the previous study, one possible reason for this was a fear that their
supervisor might fire them if they spoke up against unsafe conditions
(Al-Bayati et al., 2017b). The overall results suggest a lower power dis-
tance between non-Hispanic workers and their supervisors.
To assess the collectivism cultural value, the participants were asked
about their preference to work with their family members or close
friends as well as their reference to work as an individual or in a
group. Almost 30% (29.5%) of the non-Hispanic participants indicated
that they prefer to work with their family members or close friends,
compared with 58.5% of Hispanic workers who preferred working
with family members or close friends as has been found by Al-Bayati
et al. (2017b). Similarly, 62.2% of non-Hispanic participants indicated
their preference to work as individuals instead of groups versus only
19% of Hispanic workers who preferred the same. The overall results
are indicative of the non-collectivism cultural value among non-His-
panic workers who participated in this study. To ensure that this conclu-
sion is unbiased, a chi-square test of association was conducted to
determine if there was a relationship between workers' ethnicity (i.e.,
Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic) and their preference to work with their fam-
ily members or close friends. The test was conducted assuming an alpha
level of 0.05. This test was chosen because of the categorical nature of
the data as well as the fact that the data met the test assumptions of ex-
pected counts greater than five per cell and the independence of obser-
vations. Table 1 is a contingency table (i.e., crosstab table) that shows
the two categorical variables, Hispanic and non-Hispanic, as well as
their preferences. The test result indicated a statistically significant asso-
ciation or relationship between workers' ethnicity and their preference
for working with their family members or close friends (χ2 (1) =
10.060, p = 0.002), suggesting that there is a 0.002 chance that the dif-
ference in preferences between the two groups was a result of random
effects. Examination of the standardized residuals suggested that the re-
spondents who are non-Hispanic were significantly more likely to pre-
fer to work independently without family members or close friends
(standardized residuals = 1.8) as compared to Hispanic workers. Fi-
nally, the association between ethnicity and working with family and
close friends was a moderately strong association (φ = 0.27, p =
0.002). Another chi-square test of association was conducted to deter-
mine if there was a relationship between workers' ethnicity (i.e., His-
panic vs. Non-Hispanic) and their preference to work individually or
within a group. The test was conducted using an alpha of level 0.05.
Again, this test was chosen because of the categorical nature of the
data as well as the fact that the data met the test assumptions of ex-
pected counts greater than 5 per cell and the independence of observa-
tions. The test result indicated a statistically significant association or
relationship between workers' ethnicity and their preference for work-
ing individually (χ2 (1) = 26.465, p b 0.001), suggesting that there is
less than 0.001 chance that the difference in preferences between the
two groups was a result of random effects. Examination of the
Table 1
Hispanic workers versus non-Hispanic contingency table – collectivism culture.
Question Answer
1. Working with a group of family members and close friends? Favor
Opposed
Column marginal
2. Working individually or within a group? Individually
Group
Column marginal
standardized residuals suggests that respondents who are non-Hispanic
are significantly more likely to prefer working individually (standard-
ized residuals = 3.5) as compared to Hispanic respondents. In addition,
the examination of the standardized residuals suggests that Hispanic
workers are significantly more likely to prefer working in a group (stan-
dardized residuals = 1.6) as compared to non-Hispanic respondents. Fi-
nally, the association between ethnicity and working individually or
within a group was strong (φ = − 0.427, p b 0.001). Therefore, the
overall results clearly suggest that collectivism is higher among His-
panic construction workers when comparing them to non-Hispanic
construction workers.
The participants were also asked about their instruction preference
(detailed vs. general) as well as management preference (i.e., workers
must strictly follow their employer guidelines vs. their own knowledge
and experiences in daily activities) to assess their uncertainty avoidance
cultural value. The results were compared to those from the supervisors
and Hispanic workers' response in Al-Bayati and Abudayyeh (2016) and
Al-Bayati et al. (2017a, 2017b). Sixty percent (60%) of non-Hispanic par-
ticipants indicated that they prefer detailed instructions. While this re-
sult indicates high uncertainty avoidance, the survey of Hispanic
workers shows 81.3% prefer detailed instruction, which suggests a
higher level of uncertainty avoidance among Hispanic workers when
compared to non-Hispanic workers. Similarly, around 64.4% of partici-
pants indicated a preference for work under rules set by the manage-
ment. However, survey results of Hispanic workers indicated that
79.6% of Hispanic workers prefer to work under rules set by the man-
agement, which suggests higher uncertainty avoidance among Hispanic
workers. To ensure this conclusion is unbiased, a chi-square test of asso-
ciation was conducted to determine if there was a relationship between
workers' ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic) and their preference
for the type of instruction and management. The test was conducted
using an alpha of 0.05. This test was chosen because of the categorical
nature of the data, as well as the data met the test assumptions of ex-
pected counts greater than 5 per cell and the independence of observa-
tions. Table 2 is contingency table (i.e., crosstab tables) that shows the
two categorical variables, Hispanic and non-Hispanic, as well as their in-
dicated preferences.
The overall results indicated a statistically significant relationship
between workers' ethnicity and their management and instruction
preferences. For management type, the test results indicated a non-sta-
tistically significant relationship between workers' ethnicity and their
management type preference (i.e., ruled vs. experience) since the
value of alpha is slightly above 0.05 (χ2 (1) = 3.665, p = 0.056). How-
ever, the examination of the standardized residuals suggests that re-
spondents who are non-Hispanic are significantly more likely to prefer
management that allows them to work based on their past experience
(standardized residuals = 1.4) when compared to Hispanic respon-
dents. Therefore, the result indicates that both Hispanic and non-His-
panic workers prefer ruled management style, however, this
preference is higher among Hispanic workers. On the other hand, the
test results indicate a statistically significant association between
workers' ethnicity and their instruction preference (i.e., general vs.
Workers' ethnicity
Non-Hispanic Hispanic Row marginal
Al-Bayati et al. (2017b)
29.5% (13) 58.5% (55) 49.3% (68)
70.5% (31) 41.5% (39) 50.7% (70)
100% (44) 100% (94) 100% (138)
62.2% (28) 19% (19) 49.3% (68)
37.8% (17) 81% (81) 50.7% (70)
100% (45) 100% (100) 100% (138)
 A.J. Al-Bayati et al. / Journal of Safety Research 66 (2018) 1–8 5

Table 2
Hispanic workers versus non-Hispanic contingency table – uncertainty avoidance.

Question Answer Workers' ethnicity

Non-Hispanic Hispanic Row marginal

Al-Bayati et al. (2017b)

1. Do you prefer to work with a company that has rules to manage employees' activities Ruled management 64.4% (29) 79.6% (74) 74.6% (103)
or a company that asks employees to do their job using their past experiences? Experience 35.6% (16) 20.4% (19) 25.4% (35)
Column marginal 100% (45) 100% (93) 100% (138)
2. When your supervisor directs you to do a task, do you prefer detailed directions or Detailed 60% (27) 81.3% (78) 75.4% (105)
general directions? General 40% (18) 18.7% (18) 25.5% (36)
Column marginal 100% (45) 100% (96) 100% (141)

Table 3
Summary of the results of the three surveys – uncertainty avoidance.

Aspect Question Answer Non-Hispanic workers Hispanic workers Supervisors perspective

(Non-Hispanic) Hispanic

Current study (Al-Bayati et al., 2017b) (Al-Bayati et al., 2017a)

Uncertainty avoidance Prefer detailed directions or general instructions? General 40% 18.7% 60.2% 86.7%
Detailed 60% 81.3% 39.8% 13.3%

detailed), (χ2 (1) = 7.277, p = 0.007). This result suggests that there is a fundamental aspect of culture. Therefore, it is very important to ac-
a 0.007 chance that the difference in preferences between the two count for Hispanic workers' nationalities while studying their expecta-
groups resulted from random effects. Examination of the standardized tions and values. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the
residuals suggests that respondents who are non-Hispanic are signifi- characteristics of this important segment of the Hispanic workforce.
cantly more likely to prefer general, not detailed, instructions (stan- The following is a sub-sample analysis of the Hispanic workers (n =
dardized residuals = 1.9) as compared to all other respondents. 104) who participated in the Al-Bayati et al. (2017a, 2017b) study.
Finally, the association between ethnicity and instruction type was a Table 4 shows the country of origin of the study sample. It is clear that
moderately strong association (φ = 0.227, p = .007). Therefore, the workers who come from Mexico represent a majority, while others
overall results suggest that uncertainty avoidance is higher among His- come from different countries. Table 5 shows a statistical description
panic construction workers when compared to non-Hispanic construc- of age, educational background, and year of experience in the United
tion workers. States.
Comparing the findings of this study with the surveys of Hispanic As a result, this study investigates the characteristics of Mexican
workers and construction supervisors suggest an agreement among workers versus other Hispanic workers to see if any statistically signifi-
construction practitioners who participated in these three separate cant difference in responses between these groups exists. Table 6 illus-
studies on two cultural values (i.e., power distance and collectivism). trates the tests results of statistically significant differences between
On the other hand, comparison of these findings with those of the pre- Mexican and other Hispanic workers. All tests were conducted using
vious two studies show that supervisors significantly underestimate the an alpha level of 0.05. Due to the categorical nature of the collected
preference workers have for detailed directions as shown in see Table 3. data, a Mann–Whitney U test is used for ordinal data sets while a Chi-
These findings support the Al-Bayati et al. (2017b) findings regarding Square test is used for discrete data sets.
uncertainty avoidance and suggest that construction supervisors may The results indicate that there are no significant statistical differ-
not be providing enough details to their Hispanic workers (see Table ences between Mexican and other Hispanic workers in the following as-
3). The overall results regarding uncertainty avoidance suggest that pects: Education, Age, Years of Experience, and Collectivism. The results
constructions supervisors need to provide more details to their workers also indicate a statistically significant difference regarding power
with special attention to their Hispanic workers since they have a higher
need for details to complete their tasks as shown in Table 3.
Table 5
Statistical description of age, educational background, and experience.
4.1.1. Sub-sample analysis (Hispanic workers survey)
This section explores potential cultural difference based on national- Characteristics Mexican (%) Other Hispanic workers (%)
ity within the Hispanic worker sample. Workers' nationality represents Age
Less than 20 years 3 (4.3) 6 (20.6)
20–30 years old 27 (38.6) 10 (34.6)
Table 4 30–40 years old 23 (32.8) 6 (20.6)
The country of origin of Hispanic workers. More than 40 years old 17 (24.3) 7 (24.2)
Educational background
Country of origin Frequency Percent
No educational at all 2 (2.9) 0
Mexico 74 71.2% Some education 32 (45.7) 14 (51.8)
Ecuador 8 7.7% Foreign high school 25 (35.7) 6 (22.2)
USA 6 5.8% Some college or beyond 6 (8.6) 5 (18.6)
El Salvador 4 3.8% U.S. high school 5 (7.1) 2 (7.4)
Honduras 4 3.8% U.S. experience
Guatemala 3 2.9% Less than one year 1 (1.4) 2 (6.9)
Peru 2 1.9% 1–5 years 4 (5.6) 5 (17.2)
Other 3 2.9% More than 5 years 66 (92.9) 17 (58.6)
Total 104 100.0% U.S. born 0 5 (17.3)
6 A.J. Al-Bayati et al. / Journal of Safety Research 66 (2018) 1–8

Table 6
The statistical results of differences assessment between Mexican and other Hispanic workers.

Aspect Question Test method Test value p Value Statistically

significant

Education What is your educational background? Mann–Whitney U 914 0.79 No

Age How old are you? Mann–Whitney U 853.5 0.19 No
Years of experience How many years have you lived in the US? Mann–Whitney U 1018.5 0.89 No
Power distance Are Hispanic workers less or more likely to ask their supervisor Mann–Whitney U 635 0.005 Yes
questions when they are assigned an unsafe task?
Are Hispanic workers less or more likely to ask their supervisor 656.5 0.03 Yes
questions when they are assigned an unsafe task?
Collectivism Do you prefer detailed directions or general directions? Chi-Square test for homogeneity 0.186 0.67 No
Do you prefer to work with a company that has rules to manage 2.815 0.09 No
employees' activities or a company that asks employees to do their
job using their past experiences?
Uncertainty Do you prefer working with a group of your family members and Chi-Square test for homogeneity 4.025 0.045 Yes
avoidance close friends or not?
Do prefer to work within a group of workers or as an individual? 0.152a 0.696 No
a
1 cells (25%) have expected count less than 5, Fisher's Exact Test (p = 0.772).

distance between Mexican and other Hispanic workers (see Table 6).
The data shows that 62.9% of Mexican workers who participated in
the study are less likely to question unsafe tasks versus 37% of other His-
panic workers who participated in the same survey as shown in Table 7.
Table 7 shows the frequencies of Mexican and other Hispanic workers.
Similarly, 54.7% of Mexican workers suggest that they are less likely to
question unclear tasks versus 35.7% of other Hispanic workers. Thus,
the findings suggest that power distance is higher among Mexican
workers when compared to other Hispanic, non-Mexican, workers.
The results regarding uncertainty avoidance indicate a significant
statistical difference in the preference of working with family and
close friends between Mexican and other Hispanic workers who partic-
ipated in the survey. The percentage of Mexican workers (65.2%) who
indicated that they prefer working with their family members and
close friends is higher than other Hispanic workers (42.9%). On the
other hand, the results indicate a non-statistical difference in the prefer-
ence of working with a group of workers between Mexican workers
(81.8%) and other Hispanic workers (85.2%).
5. Discussion
The results of the non-Hispanic survey regarding the identified ac-
tive cultural differences (i.e., power distance, collectivism, and uncer-
tainty avoidance) reinforce the findings of a recent investigation
published by Al-Bayati et al. (2017a, 2017b). The results suggest that
cultural considerations, beyond language, are essential factors in creat-
ing a safe workplace. The lack of knowledge about active cultural differ-
ences could impact communications in construction sites in a similar
way to language barriers. OSHA already requires employers to provide
several remedies to overcome the language barrier, however, no such
requirements exist for addressing challenges associated with cultural
differences.
The results from these three studies identify key cultural differences
between the Hispanic and non-Hispanic sample which highlights the
importance of addressing active cultural differences to support accident
prevention efforts. Managing active cultural differences through educa-
tion and training must be seriously considered to actively improve
safety performance. Managing active cultural differences should be con-
sidered a leading indicator of safety performance because the differ-
ences can be managed proactively without experiencing an injury. In
addition, it is an active leading indicator of safety performance because
managing active cultural differences is a dynamic process that must be
tailored based on the diversity of the workforce within each construc-
tion site, and will require continuous assessment of the needs and ex-
pectations of immigrant workers, their co-workers and supervisors.
Safety management systems are developed within a specific cultural
context and therefore inherently tailored to the cultural perspective of
the dominant social group in which they were developed. Conversely,
they do not account for the cultural perspective of workers who are
from different social groups. The resulting cultural incompatibility be-
tween the safety management system and the immigrant workforce
can result in a disconnect between workers, supervisors, and manage-
ment systems that can lead to increased rates of workplace injuries. Un-
safe worker behavior (i.e., human error) is an outward manifestation of
this disconnect, but the root cause is often triggered by cultural discon-
nections. Unsafe behavior could fall under three categories: skill-based
errors, mistakes, and violations (Reason, 2000). Mistakes result from
the absence of effective rules, or the available ones are not adequate.

Table 7
The frequencies values of Mexican and other Hispanic workers.

Aspect Question Answer Mexican Other

workforce Hispanic

Power distance Are Hispanic workers less or more likely to ask their supervisor questions when they Less likely 62.9% 37%
are assigned an unsafe task? More likely 28.6% 29.6%
Same 8.6% 33.4%
Are Hispanic workers less or more likely to ask their supervisor questions when they Less likely 54.7% 35.7%
are assigned an unsafe task? More likely 29.7% 25%
Same 15.6% 39.9%
Collectivism Do you prefer detailed directions or general directions? Detailed 82.4% 78.6%
General 17.6% 21.4%
Do you prefer to work with a company that has rules to manage employees' activities Ruled 83.8% 68%
or a company that asks employees to do their job using their past experiences? Experiences 17.6% 32%
Uncertainty avoidance Do you prefer working with a group of your family members and close friends or not? Prefer 65.2% 42.9%
No 34.8% 57.1%
Do prefer to work within a group of workers or as an individual? Prefer 81.8% 85.2%
No 18.2% 14.8%
 A.J. Al-Bayati et al. / Journal of Safety Research 66 (2018) 1–8
Safety rules are usually created to manage common errors in the man-
agement system. The unsafe behavior category can translate from
being a mistake to a violation when the required rules are active, com-
municated to workers, and workers intentionally do not follow them
(Zhao, McCoy, Kleiner, & Feng, 2016). Therefore, a human action that
precursors a work-related accident could be a system error - not a
human error. When safety management systems do not account for cul-
tural differences they can inadvertently result in unsafe behaviors
among workers from minority groups (e.g., Hispanic immigrants).
However, since there are no regulations or recommendations that ad-
dress active cultural differences, it is a fundamental safety deficiency
in the constitution industry, rather than being errors that can be attrib-
uted to workers or supervisors' shortcomings (i.e., human error).
Finally, it is important to notice that while the identification of cul-
tural values based on the ethnicity of workers may not be directly appli-
cable or accurate for every Hispanic worker, the result of cultural value
studies indicates that it is valid among the majority of Hispanic workers.
This fact is similar to language barrier among Hispanic workers, where
the proficiency in conversing in English varies among Hispanic workers.
In fact, this study shows a statistically significant difference in one of the
identified cultural values (i.e., power distance) among Hispanic workers
themselves (i.e., Mexican vs. other Hispanic workers). This finding sug-
gests that the majority of Hispanic immigrant workers (especially those
from Mexico) are less likely to speak up when a task is unsafe or unclear
when compared to their peers (i.e., other Hispanic workers). It also sug-
gests that construction supervisors have to be aware of their own cultural
perspectives, examine the cultural perspectives and expectations of
workers from different backgrounds (Hispanic or others), and find ways
to bridge cultural differences to effectively manage safety in workplaces.
6. Recommendations
The findings of this study have both practical and theoretical impli-
cations for better understanding and improving occupational safety
and health in the construction industry and beyond. The following are
the major recommendations:
• The findings of this study are an essential first step toward addressing
active cultural differences similar to previous efforts that have focused
on addressing language barrier issues in the U.S. construction indus-
try. The creation of new rules that require practitioners to be aware
of the cultural values differences of Hispanic workers will create a
well-aligned workforce who are trained to recognize and account for
cultural differences to improve workplace performance. This study
highlights differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic construc-
tion workers and suggests that Hispanic employees are less likely to
bring safety concerns to their supervisors than non-Hispanic em-
ployees. To account for this safety challenge, professionals need to
be better trained to identify and address identified active cultural dif-
ferences. Supervisors should consider how to interact with employees
to account for these differences and facilitate more open communica-
tion regarding safety issues such as reporting near misses or the desire
for more detailed instructions.
• By exploring the culture of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic em-
ployees, this study demonstrates the importance of addressing the
cultural challenges of all involved. Too often studies and interventions
focus only on the culture of the minority group. The implicit assump-
tion is that the culture of the dominant group is beyond review and it
is the minority group that needs to change and assimilate to the “way
we do things.” A more productive approach is to recognize that
workers from both the majority and minority communities have dif-
ferent cultures and that the bridging of those gaps will require a con-
certed effort from all parties to adjust their own assumptions and
ways of working. This approach also extends to the cultural assump-
tions of supervisors, the organization, and even researchers, suggest-
ing that they should all be examined and made explicit.
7
• The findings also underscore the importance of accounting for other
social determinants of occupational health such as age, sex, class,
and race and how they interact with ethnicity and other variables
that position some workers at a higher risk for occupational injury
and illness than others.
• Construction supervisors should use the findings of this study to fur-
ther improve the communication with their Hispanic workers by pro-
viding detailed instructions even though they may not ask.
Construction supervisor should encourage their workers to speak up
and discuss their safety concerns freely. It is also essential to hire a bi-
lingual safety leader who has the required knowledge regarding ACDs
and authorization to take the required corrective actions. Hiring bilin-
gual safety personnel who do not have leadership skills and the re-
quired experience may not translate to any benefits. Such actions
will lead to a culture of trust, which will further lead to the improve-
ment of construction outcomes and reduce turnovers, job dissatisfac-
tion, and disengagement. It is important to notice that the influence of
ACDs exists when other causes such as education level, low English
level, and immigration status may also exist. It has been noticed that
these root causes more predominantly among Hispanic construction
workers (Al-Bayati et al., 2017a, 2017b).
• According to Neal and Griffin (2002), employees' knowledge is a cru-
cial step to improve safety performance and safety climate/culture.
Therefore, communicating the identified ACDs and their potential in-
fluence on safety actions and communication to both workers and su-
pervisors can reduce the undesirable effects of ACDs. Effective
interaction with the diverse workforce has been recommended to im-
prove the functionality of organizations (Jackson & Ruderman, 1999).
7. Limitations
• Culture is a complex social construct that can be difficult to study
comprehensively. The wide-range of cultural values is one of the fac-
tors that impact project success and safety outcomes. Therefore, this
study focused on investigating cultural values using the Hofstede's
model. Given the complexity of cultural as a construct and the limited
sample size (especially of the non-Mexican Hispanic participants)
apart from the differences within the Hispanic community (i.e., Mex-
ican workers vs. other Hispanic workers), the findings should be han-
dled carefully and not generalized to all Hispanic construction
workers.
• At the conceptual level, critiques of Hofstede et al. (2010) argue for a
more dynamic and fluid understanding of the culture that goes be-
yond nationality that accounts for the influences social positions
have on cultural perspectives (Ailon, 2008; McSweeney, 2002). How-
ever, the studies that have been discussed in this paper have only used
Hofstede theory as a starting point, and the results indicate differences
in perspectives among workers represented by the different ethnic
groups. Furthermore, future studies should use a broader range of the-
ories, definitions, and models of culture to develop a robust under-
standing of culture and its impact on occupational health. Including
anthropologists, and other social scientists, in multi-disciplinary re-
search projects could prove particularly helpful.
8. Conclusion
The growing diversity in the workforce, a greater appreciation for
the social determinants of occupational safety and health, and our
broadening understanding of the relationship between work and health
are just some of the factors contributing to the evolution of the occupa-
tional safety and health field. These changes are pushing safety and
health researchers to adopt a more holistic approach to incorporate so-
cial elements of occupational safety and health in their work. This study
suggests the need for further research into how culture interacts with
other social factors such as how immigration affects workplace safety,
8 A.J. Al-Bayati et al. / Journal of Safety Research 66 (2018) 1–8
how the influx of Hispanic workers has influenced both Hispanic and
non-Hispanic culture on the job, and how organizations can best ad-
dress cultural diversity. This will require researchers to expand their ap-
proach of culture to include additional theories and engage with an
ever-growing number of academic disciplines.
While there is a need for more research to be conducted and the lack
of knowledge about the topic is noticeable, the results of this study have
practical implications and highlight the importance of addressing ACDs
at the worksite. They will permit safety professionals to better under-
stand and more effectively adapt to the growing Hispanic population
in the construction workforce. The results also suggest that current
and future construction professionals need to be trained on how to pro-
mote safety in a multi-cultural setting. This may be particularly chal-
lenging for the largely applied and technical occupational safety and
health professions. Studies that address dynamic social factors such as
culture can only help in informing these efforts and improve workplace
safety in the construction industry.
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Ahmed Jalil Al-Bayati is an assistant professor in the Construction Management Depart-
ment at Western Carolina University. He earned his PhD in Construction Engineering from
Western Michigan University in 2017. His dissertation research focused on managing
workforce diversity at construction sites in the US to improve safety, quality, and team-
work. Dr. Al-Bayati has over ten years of experience in the construction industry working
in diverse areas of the field from safety coordinator to site engineer. He is a certified pro-
fessional engineer in the state of Michigan, an OSHA authorized trainer, and is certified as a
Construction Safety and Health Technician. His current research focuses on construction
safety and construction project management with a particular emphasis on safety culture
parameters and their impact on site safety, construction workforce diversity management,
and construction rework and change orders.
Osama Abudayyeh is a Professor and Chair of Civil and Construction Engineering in the
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Western Michigan University (WMU).
Dr. Abudayyeh is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of Michigan, California,
and North Carolina. Prior to joining WMU, He was an assistant professor of Civil Engineer-
ing and Construction at North Dakota State University and a Bridge Engineer in the Office
of Structures at the California Department of Transportation. Dr. Abudayyeh's areas of re-
search expertise and interests lie in safety management, project management concepts
and systems, infrastructure management systems, and engineering database management
and information modeling. He has been involved in numerous funded projects through
grants and contracts exceeding $12 million from various federal, state, and private sources
such as the US Department of Transportation, the Michigan Department of Transportation
(MDOT), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), National Science
Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), local Michigan
government (Calhoun County and the City of Benton Harbor), University, and private compa-
nies. He authored or co-authored more than 170 articles and technical reports published in
nationally and internationally recognized journals and conference proceedings.
Alex Albert is an Assistant Professor in the Construction Engineering and Management
Program in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. He
earned his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2013.
He also received a Master's degree in Structural Engineering from Lehigh University, Penn-
sylvania in 2010.Dr. Albert received the best paper award from the International Council
for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) in 2012, and the American
Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) in 2013. He also received the second-best paper
award at the 2014 Construction Research Congress. He has actively worked on research
projects funded by the Construction Industry Institute (CII), ELECTRI International, and
other private companies.