Psychological Safety Climate as a Human Resource Development Target: Effects on Workers Functioning Through Need Satisfaction and Thwarting

Abstract

The Problem This article seeks to identify a new lever to act on employee burnout, work–family conflict (WFC), affective commitment to the organization (ACO), and work engagement. It examines whether psychosocial safety climate (PSC) can affect these outcomes. Furthermore, this empirical article addresses the psychological mechanisms that could explain such effects, and explores the mediating role of need satisfaction and need thwarting in these relationships. The Solution We conducted a study to examine whether need satisfaction and thwarting mediated the effects of PSC on burnout, WFC, ACO, and work engagement. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that the effects of PSC on employee adaptive and maladaptive functioning were partially mediated by psychological need satisfaction and thwarting, respectively. The Stakeholders Implications for human resource development (HRD) are offered, including recommendations to promote PSC and foster need satisfaction, while preventing experiences conducive to need thwarting.