Can Safety Initiatives Do More? Examining the Impact of Safety Coaching on Work-Related Outcomes

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has coerced organizations all around to globe into changing their operations both to ensure the continuity of their business and the safety of their employees. While for some organizations, it was easy to switch to work from home to ensure the safety of their employees, for the others, it wasn’t that effortless, and more so for some, it was outrightly not possible. Regardless, most organizations, in the post- pandemic world undertook measures to ensure the safety of their employees while keeping in mind the prevention of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures, while expected to ensure the safety of the employees, are likely to have a spill-over effect on the employees’ work outcomes. Adopting the lens of the conservation of resources theory, the authors analyzed the responses of 250 working professionals in a three-wave study with the aim to uncover the impact of safety coaching undertaken by the organizations on one such aspect, i.e., work engagement. In the process, the study also sheds light on the mechanism through which safety coaching impacts work engagement, i.e., via satisfaction with corporate philanthropic COVID-19 response and organizational trust. The study is expected to have various practical implications for organizations around the globe.