Abstract
The aim of this article was to investigate the psychosocial risk environment influencing employee behaviour, and subsequently
the trust relationship between employer and employee. The unique nature and commonness of negative acts, such as unsafe
behaviour, human errors, poor performance and negligence (also referred to as unsafe practices) are explored in this article.
Pertinent literatures were reviewed on the nature of negative acts or unsafe behaviour. The findings of this study were used to
draw comparisons between unsafe behaviour/misconduct and accidents in the workplace and finally recommendations were
made on how the problem can be addressed from a labour relations perspective. The results indicate that a relationship
between unsafe practice/misconduct and occupational injuries and accidents exist, owing to system flaws, human error or
psychosocial risk.