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. 2019 Jul 8;16(13):2427.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16132427.

Human Error: The Impact of Job Insecurity on Attention-Related Cognitive Errors and Error Detection

Lara Christina Roll  1   2 , Oi-Ling Siu  3 , Simon Y W Li  3 , Hans De Witte  4   5
Affiliations

Human Error: The Impact of Job Insecurity on Attention-Related Cognitive Errors and Error Detection

Lara Christina Roll et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Background: Work-related stress is a major contributor to human error. One significant workplace stressor is job insecurity, which has been linked to an increased likelihood of experiencing burnout. This, in turn, might affect human error, specifically attention-related cognitive errors (ARCES) and the ability to detect errors. ARCES can be costly for organizations and pose a safety risk. Equally detrimental effects can be caused by failure to detect errors before they can cause harm. (2) Methods: We gathered self-report and behavioral data from 148 employees working in educational, financial and medical sectors in China. We designed and piloted an error detection task in which employees had to compare fictitious customer orders to deliveries of an online shop. We tested for indirect effects using the PROCESS macro with bootstrapping (3) Results: Our findings confirmed indirect effects of job insecurity on both ARCES and the ability to detect errors via burnout. (4) Conclusions: The present research shows that job insecurity influences making and detecting errors through its relationship with burnout. These findings suggest that job insecurity could increase the likelihood for human error with potential implications for employees' safety and the safety of others.

Keywords: behavioral data; burnout; cognitive errors; error detection; qualitative job insecurity; quantitative job insecurity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Practise trial rabbit: Customer order.
Figure A2
Figure A2
Practise trial rabbit: Billing receipt.
Figure A3
Figure A3
Practise trial rabbit: Checksheet.
Figure A4
Figure A4
Practise trial cat: Customer order.
Figure A5
Figure A5
Practise trial cat: Billing receipt.
Figure A6
Figure A6
Practise trial cat: Checksheet.
Figure A7
Figure A7
Study trial buffalo: Customer order.
Figure A8
Figure A8
Study trial buffalo: Billing receipt.
Figure A9
Figure A9
Study trial buffalo: Checksheet.
Figure A10
Figure A10
Study trial butterfly: Customer order.
Figure A11
Figure A11
Study trial butterfly: Billing receipt.
Figure A12
Figure A12
Study trial butterfly: Checksheet.
Figure A13
Figure A13
Study trial deer: Customer order.
Figure A14
Figure A14
Study trial deer: Billing receipt.
Figure A15
Figure A15
Study trial deer: Checksheet.
Figure A16
Figure A16
Study trial duck: Customer order.
Figure A17
Figure A17
Study trial duck: Billing receipt.
Figure A18
Figure A18
Study trial duck: Checksheet.
Figure A19
Figure A19
Study trial elephant: Customer order.
Figure A20
Figure A20
Study trial elephant: Billing receipt.
Figure A21
Figure A21
Study trial elephant: Checksheet.
Figure A22
Figure A22
Study trial monkey: Customer order.
Figure A23
Figure A23
Study trial monkey: Billing receipt.
Figure A24
Figure A24
Study trial monkey: Checksheet.
Figure A25
Figure A25
Study trial tiger: Customer order.
Figure A26
Figure A26
Study trial tiger: Billing receipt.
Figure A27
Figure A27
Study trial tiger: Checksheet.
Figure A28
Figure A28
Study trial penguin: Customer order.
Figure A29
Figure A29
Study trial penguin: Billing receipt.
Figure A30
Figure A30
Study trial penguin: Checksheet.
Figure A31
Figure A31
Study trial platypus: Customer order.
Figure A32
Figure A32
Study trial platypus: Billing receipt.
Figure A33
Figure A33
Study trial platypus: Checksheet.
Figure A34
Figure A34
Study trial seahorse: Customer order.
Figure A35
Figure A35
Study trial seahorse: Billing receipt.
Figure A36
Figure A36
Study trial seahorse: Checksheet.
Figure A37
Figure A37
Study trial squirrel: Customer order.
Figure A38
Figure A38
Study trial squirrel: Billing receipt.
Figure A39
Figure A39
Study trial squirrel: Checksheet.
Figure A40
Figure A40
Study trial hippo: Customer order.
Figure A41
Figure A41
Study trial hippo: Billing receipt.
Figure A42
Figure A42
Study trial hippo: Checksheet.
Figure A43
Figure A43
This figure shows the customer order (left), which needed to be compared to the billing receipt (middle). Results needed to be marked on the checksheet (right). The animal symbol identified which papers needed to be compared.
Figure A44
Figure A44
The checksheet listing 10 items to be compared.
Figure A45
Figure A45
Example of the first item on the checksheet that needed to be compared: order number.
Figure A46
Figure A46
Participant marking that the first item was correct on the checksheet.
Figure A47
Figure A47
Participant marking that the first item was incorrect on the checksheet.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of trials and respective errors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Error detection task: Distribution of misses across participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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