Psychosocial safety climate as a precursor to conducive work environments, psychological health problems, and employee engagement

Abstract

We constructed a model of workplace psychosocial safety climate (PSC) to explain the origins of job demands and resources, worker psychological health, and employee engagement. PSC refers to policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety. Using the job demands–resources framework, we hypothesized that PSC as an upstream organizational resource influenced largely by senior management, would precede the work context (i.e., job demands and resources) and would in turn predict psychological health and work engagement via mediation and moderation pathways. We operationalized PSC at the school level and tested meso‐mediational models using two‐level (longitudinal) hierarchical linear modelling in a sample of Australian education workers (N = 209–288). Data were repeated measures separated by 12 months, nested within 18 schools. PSC predicted change in individual psychological health problems (psychological distress, emotional exhaustion) through its relationship with individual job demands (work pressure and emotional demands). PSC moderated the relationship between emotional demands and emotional exhaustion. PSC predicted change in employee engagement, through its relationship with skill discretion. The results show that the PSC construct is a key upstream component of work stress theory and a logical intervention site for work stress intervention.

Integrating psychosocial safety climate in the JD-R model: A study amongst Malaysian workers

“…safety climate) is the fact that PSC is viewed as a precursor or antecedent variable to working conditions and not as an outcome or mediator. Empirically, recent studies demonstrate that PSC is clearly an antecedent to the work context and is associated with psychological health through its relationship with the working environment (Bond et al, 2010;Dollard & Bakker, 2010). These studies show that PSC is a valid and reliable construct in relation to work conditions, psychological health and work engagement.…”

“…So far, the JD-R model (Bakker, Demerouti, & Verbeke, 2004) and the PSC integrative model (Dollard & Bakker, 2010) have mainly been tested in Western nations. Research on psychosocial factors and work stress in Eastern countries such as Malaysia is lacking (Sadhra, Beach, Aw, & Sheikh-Ahmed, 2001), as it is in most developing countries (Chopra, 2009).…”

“…In consideration of the characteristics of PSC, an organisation which strongly emphasises employee psychological health and safety will create job demands that are both motivating and conducive to health (Dollard & Bakker, 2010). Communication systems will be in place so that risks can be prevented, identified and managed, for example, through better allocation of workload or greater opportunity for recovery.…”

A research about the relationship of psychological safety and organizational politics perception with compulsory citizenship behavior and the pressures behind compulsory citizenship behavior

“…As Dollard and Bakker (2010) asserted that a lack of Psychological Safety climate in an organization could lead to poorly designed jobs and chronic job demands. For example, high levels of work pressure may prevail because of a lack of policies, practices, and procedures aimed at maintaining work demands at manageable levels.…”

Occupational stress and job burnout in mental health

“…work engagement). Considering the characteristics of PSC, an organisation that strongly advocates employee psychological health and safety will create job demands that are motivating and conducive to health (Dollard & Bakker, 2010). PSC is therefore a lead indicator of workplace psychosocial hazards (high demands and low resources), psychological health and employee engagement and a potential moderator of psychosocial hazard effects.…”