WORKERS' PERCEPTIONS AND RESPONSES TO EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
Synopsis
Regardless of the level of safety present in each workplace, emergency situations is always possible. To keep calm and mitigate the effects of these occurrences, it is important to ensure that workers are informed and prepared to provide an adequate response to deal with them. Objectives: This study examined workers’ perceptions of and responses to emergency situations by evaluating their levels of knowledge, preparedness, and safety awareness, as well as by analysing the extent to which training in
emergency-related areas influences these dimensions. Methodology: To collect the data, a questionnaire was applied to a sample of thirty-seven workers from three companies/institutions in the municipality. Results: They although the majority of workers are trained, there are clear gaps in their practical knowledge and in the procedures to be adopted in the event of a situation of this type, and there was also a positive influence on the perception of preparedness, but not on the feeling of safety Conclusions: Training is essential to achieving satisfactory outcomes; however, it must be appropriately designed and sufficiently comprehensive to be effectively perceived and internalised. It is therefore recommended that training initiatives be strengthened and that a greater emphasis be placed on practical methodologies, thereby facilitating the assimilation and application of acquired theoretical knowledge.
