Psychosocial Safety Research Articles

PSC through the lens of a dispersion-composition model: the beneficial effects of PSC ideal as a high and strong PSC signal

ABSTRACT We investigated the Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) construct and its role in attenuating the negative effects of job demands (i.e. emotional and psychological) on psychological health (distress, emotional exhaustion, and depression). In particular, we used composition theory to understand how organisational PSC could be derived from individual perceptions of PSC. We introduce a relatively new construct, PSC Ideal, which combines PSC level and dispersion (variability; SD). We expected that the attenuating role would be strongest when organisational PSC Ideal was high; high (on level) and strong (less variability). Statistically, PSC Ideal implies taking account of PSC Level and its variability simultaneously. A hierarchical sample of 41 organisations with 495 participants was analysed from Australian Workplace Barometer data. In four out of six analyses, PSC Ideal significantly moderated the effects of job demands (particularly emotional demands) on psychological health (emotional exhaustion, psychological distress, depression). The promising moderation role of PSC Ideal implies that the disruption of the job demands and poor psychological health relationship requires consideration of PSC levels and strength in combination, rather than level alone. Theoretical and practical recommendations highlight the role of PSC Ideal in ameliorating and preventing the negative impact of work demands.

Psychosocial safety climate and supportive leadership as vital enhancers of personal hope and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of supportive leadership and psychosocial safety climate on personal hope and resilience among nurses during the pandemic. Conservation of resource theory was employed to explain the effects of psychosocial safety climate and supportive leadership on nurses' hope and resilience. A cross-sectional design was employed to collect data. Six-hundred and twenty-three nurses across 68 hospitals who were in direct contact with COVID-19 patients during the fifth wave of the pandemic in Iran were recruited. Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) and Structural Equation Modelling using Amos were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that both psychosocial safety climate and supportive leadership improved personal resilience through personal hope. Findings showed that the positive relationship between supportive leadership and personal hope was stronger when the hospital-level psychosocial safety climate was high. To improve personal hope and resilience among nurses during critical times, hospital management must ensure consistent supportive leadership and establish policies, practices and procedures that support nurses' psychosocial health and safety at the hospital level.

The Effect of Psychosocial Safety Climate on Engagement and Psychological Distress: A Multilevel Study on the Healthcare Sector

All work sectors have been affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The perception of risk combined with the lack of safety and fear for their own safety have caused severe psychological discomfort in workers. Of all the work sectors, the most affected was certainly the healthcare sector. In hospitals, medical staff were at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, providing care in close physical proximity to patients and had a direct risk of being exposed to the virus. The main objective of the study was to investigate the perception of a psychosocial safety climate and the effect on engagement and psychological stress in a sample of 606 healthcare workers (physicians 39.6%, nurses 41.3%, healthcare assistant 19.1%), belonging to six organisations and organised into 11 working groups. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate the mediating effect of workaholism at both individual and group level. The results partially confirmed our hypotheses and the mediating effect at the individual level of working compulsively. A psychosocial safety climate in healthcare workers led to a decrease in engagement through the mediation of working compulsively. The mediating effect of working compulsively might be due to a climate that did not guarantee or preserve the psychological health and safety of healthcare workers. In this research, the most important limit concerns the number of organisations and the number of groups.

When bosses are burned out: Psychosocial safety climate and its effect on managerial quality.

When bosses are burned out: Psychosocial safety climate and its effect on managerial quality.

An exploration of practices affecting research integrity in global health partnerships

BackgroundResearch integrity is central to good research practice yet it is under-researched in global health.AimTo identify and explore factors which promote or constrain adherence to research integrity principles in global...

“Surmounting muddled pathways”: Adaptive leadership and Psychosocial Safety Climate Approach

Turbulent times have led organizations into an uncertain and chaotic state of affairs that requires immediate fixing and calls for appropriate leadership to steer out of the crisis. In this regard, we drew from psychosocial safety climate theory to examine the impact of adaptive leadership on safety citizenship behaviors by analyzing the moderating role of psychosocial safety climate and mediating effect of readiness to change, specifically in Pakistani work culture. Hence, we collected data from 397 employees working in Pakistan's manufacturing industry at two different times. We conducted a regression analysis and used PROCESS-macro to test our moderated mediation model. The findings of our study supported the model. The moderated path analysis indicated that psychosocial safety climate strengthens adaptive leadership's direct effect on readiness to change and its indirect effect on safety citizenships behaviors. To conclude, our research offers extensive implications for organizations and practitioners in sound and disruptive conditions Keywords: Adaptive leadership, Safety citizenship behaviors, psychosocial safety Climate; Readiness to Change

Occupational Health and Well-being Questionnaire (OHWQ): an instrument to assess psychosocial risk and protective factors in the workplace

ObjectivesPsychosocial stressors at work have been identified as significant risk factors for several mental and physical health problems. These stressors must be compensated by psychosocial resources to prevent or reduce adverse effects on health. Questionnaires measuring these stressors and resources already exist, but none integrate digital stress, ethical culture, and psychosocial safety climate; factors that are increasingly linked to workers’ health. This study aims to develop and establish the psychometric properties of one of the most comprehensive instruments measuring the psychosocial work environment to date: the Occupational Health and Well-being Questionnaire (OHWQ). Study designA cross-sectional validation study is proposed to develop the OHWQ and document its psychometric properties. MethodsThe OHWQ was developed from validated instruments to which new items were added. The questionnaire includes psychosocial dimensions, along with indicators of psychological distress, musculoskeletal disorders, and well-being. It was administered to a sample of 2770 participants from a population working in the academic field. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and the calculation of Cronbach's α coefficient were used to identify the variables, items, and, dimensions of the OHWQ and to document its main psychometric properties. ResultsThe acceptability of the measurement model was evaluated by the reliability of the items, internal consistency between the items, and the convergent and discriminant validity. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Using factor analyses and cut-off rules, the new instrument has 124 items grouped into 22 dimensions. The OHWQ demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity, as well as reasonable fit indices. The internal consistency of the scales was also good (Cronbach's α = 0.68–0.96, median = 0.85). ConclusionThe OHWQ demonstrated good psychometric properties. It could be useful for both research purposes and for workplaces interested in developing concrete action plans aimed at improving the balance between psychosocial work stressors and resources.

Working conditions for hospital-based maternity and neonatal health care workers during extraordinary situations – A pre-/post COVID-19 pandemic analysis and lessons learned

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate how the changed work routines during the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting the working environment for hospital-based maternity and neonatal health care workers, and to identify preventive measures to be used in future situations when health care organizations are under pressure. MethodsAll maternity and neonatal health care workers in a Swedish university hospital were surveyed during October 2019 and September 2020. The data was analyzed by document analysis of implemented changes in working routines, a quantitative analysis of the overall effects on the working conditions, and a qualitative analysis of open-ended responses. ResultsA total of 660 maternity and neonatal health care workers completed the pre-COVID-19 survey (74% response rate) and 382 the COVID-19 survey (35% response rate). Lack of personal protective equipment, worry about becoming infected, uncertainty whether implemented changes were enough, and challenges in communicating updated routines had negative effects on maternity and neonatal health care workers’ working conditions. Team spirit and feeling valued by peers had a positive effect. ConclusionsResults suggest that negative effects on maternity and neonatal health care workers’ health can partly be prevented in future critical situations by creating a work climate that acknowledges the employees’ worry about being infected, securing adequate pre-conditions for managers, creating a strong psychosocial safety climate and systematically improving the working conditions for the maternity and neonatal health care workers, as well as maintaining the positive perceived effects of increased team spirit and feeling valued by peers.

Impact of social protection on gender equality in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of reviews.

Impact of social protection on gender equality in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of reviews.

Precariousness in the time of COVID-19: A turning point for reforming and reorganizing career counselling for vulnerable workers

The aim of the present article is to purpose new career counselling perspectives for vulnerable workers in the time of COVID-19 recession. We summarize perspectives on vulnerable workers following a recently advanced taxonomy on the work precarity framework characterized by three broad categories: precarity of work (i.e. fear and concern associated with the continuity of employment), precarity at work (i.e. psychosocial or physical safety at work, including discrimination, harassment, and unsafe working conditions), and precarity from work (i.e. uncertainty and insecurity due to maintaining employment that does not satisfy the basic needs of workers). These three facets of precariousness are frequently experienced by vulnerable workers, and they are related to poorer mental and physical health. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically exacerbated this trend for vulnerable workers. Thus, suggestions for mitigating the impact of the current crisis are presented. Our perspective deals with the psychology of sustainability, sustainable development, and the psychology of working theory. In this framework, vocational psychologists could reform and reorganize specific career counselling practices for vulnerable workers, promoting sustainable and decent work and inclusivity. This could be achieved by applying four key points. 1) Enrich career counselling interventions with the processes of self-identity, reflection, and reflexivity on what constitutes actual sustainability for vulnerable workers in terms of professional and personal development. 2) Promote the use of an evidence-based methodology in accordance with the accountability principles for the 21st century. 3) Advocate to enrich available services with positive primary preventive strength-based actions and interventions through timely differentiated career counselling strategies. 4) Encourage applied research and practices to find new ways to balance resources with evidence-based efficacy; for example, by using the power of the audience in group-based life design counselling.
 Keywords: career counselling, decent work, precarious work, psychology of sustainability, vulnerable workers.

Precariousness in the time of COVID-19: A turning point for reforming and reorganizing career counselling for vulnerable workers

The aim of the present article is to purpose new career counselling perspectives for vulnerable workers in the time of COVID-19 recession. We summarize perspectives on vulnerable workers following a recently advanced taxonomy on the work precarity framework characterized by three broad categories: precarity of work (i.e. fear and concern associated with the continuity of employment), precarity at work (i.e. psychosocial or physical safety at work, including discrimination, harassment, and unsafe working conditions), and precarity from work (i.e. uncertainty and insecurity due to maintaining employment that does not satisfy the basic needs of workers). These three facets of precariousness are frequently experienced by vulnerable workers, and they are related to poorer mental and physical health. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically exacerbated this trend for vulnerable workers. Thus, suggestions for mitigating the impact of the current crisis are presented. Our perspective deals with the psychology of sustainability, sustainable development, and the psychology of working theory. In this framework, vocational psychologists could reform and reorganize specific career counselling practices for vulnerable workers, promoting sustainable and decent work and inclusivity. This could be achieved by applying four key points. 1) Enrich career counselling interventions with the processes of self-identity, reflection, and reflexivity on what constitutes actual sustainability for vulnerable workers in terms of professional and personal development. 2) Promote the use of an evidence-based methodology in accordance with the accountability principles for the 21st century. 3) Advocate to enrich available services with positive primary preventive strength-based actions and interventions through timely differentiated career counselling strategies. 4) Encourage applied research and practices to find new ways to balance resources with evidence-based efficacy; for example, by using the power of the audience in group-based life design counselling.
 Keywords: career counselling, decent work, precarious work, psychology of sustainability, vulnerable workers.

Psychosocial Safety Climate Moderates the Effect of Demands of Hospital Accreditation on Healthcare Professionals: A Longitudinal Study.

Hospital accreditation has been studied comprehensively, yet few studies have observed its impacts on the burnout and work engagement levels of frontline healthcare professionals (HCPs). With a sample of 121 HCPs working in the United Arab Emirates' public hospitals, this study used a two-wave, cross-lagged panel design to examine the direct effects of job demands and job resources during hospital accreditations on burnout and work engagement and the moderating roles of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) on burnout and work engagement 3 months after accreditation. The data were analyzed using moderated structural equation modeling. As expected, we found that job demands (i.e., accreditation demands) had a direct effect on burnout, while job resources (i.e., social support) predicted work engagement. PSC moderated both relationships; however, it was not able to directly predict burnout or work engagement. Findings from this study show a positive relationship between accreditation demands and HCPs' health. Future research needs to examine the link between PSC and job demands-resources concepts before and after hospital accreditation more closely by using multiple time points to assess the causality relationships between predictor and outcome variables.

Contextualising the Effectiveness of an Employee Assistance Program Intervention on Psychological Health: The Role of Corporate Climate.

Organisations often engage Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to assist employees experiencing psychological distress, yet EAPs primarily focus on individual remedies rather than addressing the context of the problem (e.g., the corporate climate) which may render them limited in effectiveness. We investigated the effectiveness of EAPs and the role of organisation psychosocial safety climate (PSC) (the corporate climate for worker psychological health and safety) and client satisfaction in reducing client psychological distress. Client participants (Time 1, n = 100, Time 2, n = 28, Matched n = 25) from Australia and New Zealand entering an EAP took part in two online surveys, pre- and post-EAP, around five weeks apart. Multilevel analysis showed a significant reduction in psychological distress due to the EAP (individual effect) but particularly at high levels of PSC (organisational effect). Thus, EAPs could engender a more significant impact by also assisting organisations to improve their PSC (i.e., through implementation of policies, practices and procedures for worker psychological health and safety), in combination with individual interventions.

Learning Organizations and Employees’ Outcomes: A Perspective of Psychosocial Safety Climate

Change in organizations becomes an essential element for the attainment of competitive advantage and survival of organizations in a highly competitive environment. This study investigates the direct influence of learning organizations on organizational innovation and affective commitment to change. Moreover, this study also examines the moderating role of psychosocial safety climate between the relationship of learning organizations and organizational innovation and affective commitment to change. 303 permanent employees from the manufacturing and service sectors participated in this study for the data collection purpose, and data was collected by adopting the time-lag technique through a self-administered process. The data analysis was performed using MS Excel, SPSS, and AMOS. The study's findings evidenced the direct influence of learning organizations on organizational innovation and affective commitment to change. Moreover, a higher psychosocial safety climate enhances the organizational innovation and affective commitment to change in learning organizations. The present research findings are helpful for the management of manufacturing and service sector organizations that by utilizing the concept of the learning organization, they can enhance the level of organizational innovation and affective commitment to change. Moreover, the psychosocial safety climate of the organization also plays a vital role in this regard. The present study highlights the importance of learning organizations to enhance organizational innovation and affective commitment to change by modifying their schemata through a psychosocial safety climate.

Dual hierarchical modelling for the influence of job role demands on psychosocial safety behavior: Evidence from coal industry

Psychosocial safety behavior has been indicated to be an important factor in ensuring workplace safety, but the forming mechanism of the psychosocial safety behavior of coal miners remains unclear. Considering the important impact of job role demands on psychosocial safety behavior and the dual attributes of job role demands in different contexts, this study constructs a dual hierarchical model of job role demands on psychosocial safety behavior in the coal-mining context, and explains the roles of personal resources (safety-related psychological capital) and job resources (psychosocial safety climate) in this model based on job demands-resources (JD-R) theory. Hierarchical nested data were gathered from 753 coal miners on 50 working teams. The Mplus modelling results demonstrate that job role demands manifesting as job hindrances negatively affect psychosocial safety behavior, and safety-related psychological capital mediates this impact. Moreover, as expected, the negative influence of job role demands on safety-related psychological capital and the indirect negative influence of job role demands on psychosocial safety behavior are both inverted to positive in a high-level psychosocial safety climate. The findings support the hindrance influencing mechanism of job role demands on psychosocial safety behavior considering the comprehensive influence of personal resources and job resources in the coal-mining context from the psychological perspective. A new management perspective and some intervention recommendations for coal mine work safety at the psychological level are proposed to promote the safety behavior of coal miners, which could then be used as a reference for other high-risk industries.

The influence of psychosocial safety climate on miners’ safety behavior: A cross-level research

Safety behavior is critical for workplace safety in a high-risk industry, but few studies have addressed how a psychosocial safety climate affects safety behavior. This study aims to validate the influence of psychosocial safety climate on safety behavior among Chinese underground coal miners’ and examine the mediating role of perceived organization support and mental health. We selected the1600 miners from 35 coal mines in Shanxi Province. The hierarchical linear model method was adopted in the research framework. The findings revealed that psychosocial safety climate cross-level positively affects safety behavior. The psychosocial safety climate impacts safety behavior through the mediating role of perceived organization support, mental health and chain mediation of perceived organization support and mental health. Coal managers should pay more attention to psychosocial safety climate construct, thus can enhance perceived organization support and protect mental health, which can improve safety behaviors.

A Mixed-Methods Study of Creative Problem Solving and Psychosocial Safety Climate: Preparing Engineers for the Future of Work.

The future of work is forcing the world to adjust to a new paradigm of working. New skills will be required to create and adopt new technology and working methods. Additionally, cognitive skills, particularly creative problem-solving, will be highly sought after. The future of work paradigm has threatened many occupations but bolstered others such as engineering. Engineers must keep up to date with the technological and cognitive demands brought on by the future of work. Using an exploratory mixed-methods approach, our study sought to make sense of how engineers understand and use creative problem solving. We found significant associations between engineers’ implicit knowledge of creativity, exemplified creative problem solving, and the perceived value of creativity. We considered that the work environment is a potential facilitator of creative problem-solving. We used an innovative exceptional cases analysis and found that the highest functioning engineers in terms of knowledge, skills, and perceived value of creativity, also reported working in places that facilitate psychosocially safe environments to support creativity. We propose a new theoretical framework for a creative environment by integrating the Four Ps (Person, Process, Product, and Press) and psychosocial safety climate theory that management could apply to facilitate creative problem solving. Through the acquisition of knowledge to engage in creative problem solving as individuals or a team, a perception of value must be present to enforce the benefit of creativity to the engineering role. The future of work paradigm requires that organisations provide an environment, a psychosocially safe climate, for engineers to grow and hone their sought-after skills that artificial technologies cannot currently replace.

Reducing Psychosocial Risk Factors and Improving Employee Well-Being in Emergency Departments: A Realist Evaluation.

This study reports the findings of a 2.5 year intervention project to reduce psychosocial risks and increase employee well-being in 15 emergency departments in the Netherlands. The project uses the psychosocial risk management approach “PRIMA” which includes cycles of risk assessment, designing and implementing changes, evaluating changes and adapting the approach if necessary. In addition, principles of participative action research were used to empower the departments in designing and implementing their own actions during the project. Next to determining overall effects, the study aims to assess potential moderators including the level of intervening (organization-directed or multilevel), process variables (the number and fit of actions to risk factors, communication and employee participation) and partaking in a Psychosocial Safety Climate intervention offered during the second half of the project. The results of linear mixed-model analyses showed that all job factors improved with the exception of autonomy, which did increase halfway the project but not when considering the entire timeframe. In addition, work engagement decreased and symptoms of burnout remained stable. Emergency departments that implemented more fitting actions, communicated better and involved their employees more in the process, had more favorable changes in job factors and more stable well-being. More activity (based on the number of actions implemented) and a multilevel approach regarding stress management did not lead to greater improvements. The Psychosocial Safety Climate intervention was effective in improving Psychosocial Safety Climate, but a longer follow-up period seems required to evaluate its effect on job factors and well-being. Overall, the project resulted in positive changes in most job factors, and its findings emphasize the importance of process variables in stress management interventions. Longer follow-up and higher quality multilevel interventions (including professional support for employees with stress-related complaints) seem essential to also improve well-being.

Working Safely in the Trades as Women: A Qualitative Exploration and Call for Women-Supportive Interventions.

BackgroundConstruction work offers women economic advancement and self-fulfillment opportunities, but multiple barriers prevent their increased representation in the industry. This study used qualitative methods to identity key physical and psychosocial safety hazards affecting tradeswomen.MethodsThree focus groups were held in 2015 with 19 tradeswomen in Washington State. Groups discussed workplace hazards and solutions to make the trades safer for women. Discussions were recorded, transcribed, and two independent reviewers analyzed themes.ResultsParticipants identified myriad physical and psychosocial hazards including a dangerous work environment, inadequate personal protective equipment, gender discrimination, and fear of layoff for reporting concerns. Participants identified mentorship as a potential intervention to overcome some of these barriers.ConclusionFindings suggest that the industry's work environment can be hostile and unsupportive for women, contributing to tradeswomen's injury risk and psychological distress. Future research and interventions should focus on understanding the relationships between and mediating the negative impact of women's physical and psychosocial workplace hazards. Results from these focus groups inspired a randomized control trial to study the impact mentorship has on decreasing physical and psychosocial hazards for women in construction, and improving retention.

The burden in palliative care assistance: A comparison of psychosocial risks and burnout between inpatient hospice and home care services workers.

Literature suggests that home care professionals could be at higher risk of burnout than their colleagues in hospital settings, but research on home-based palliative care is still limited. Our study investigates psychosocial risk factors and burnout among workers involved in palliative care, comparing inpatient hospice, and home care settings. A cross-sectional study was carried out in a single palliative care organization providing inpatient hospice-based and home care-based assistance in a large urban area of Northern Italy. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire collecting socio-demographic and occupational data, psychosocial risk factors, and burnout scales (Psychosocial Safety Climate 4; Conflict and Offensive Behavior - COPSOQ II; Work Life Boundaries; Work-home Interaction; Peer Support - HSE; Copenhagen Burnout Inventory). The study sample included 106 subjects (95% of the overall eligible working population) who were predominantly female (68%) and nurses (57%), with a mean age of 41 years. Compared to inpatient hospice staff, home care workers reported more frequent communications with colleagues (p = 0.03) and patients/caregivers (p = 0.01), while there were no differences in the perception of work intrusiveness. Inpatient hospice workers showed lower peer support (p = 0.08) and lower psychosocial safety climate (p = 0.001) than home care colleagues. The experience of aggressive behaviors was rare, and it was relatively more frequent among inpatient hospice workers, female workers, and health assistants. Average scores of burnout scales were similar for both groups except for caregiver-related burnout, which was higher among inpatient hospice workers compared to home care colleagues (p = 0.008). The number of subjects at risk for work-related burnout was similar for both groups. Our study confirms the presence of psychological and physical fatigue in both home-based and inpatient hospice palliative care. Results suggest that home care assistance may not be characterized by higher psychological burden compared to inpatient hospice setting. Given the general tendency to increase home-based care in our aging population, it is essential to broaden the knowledge of psychosocial risks in this specific context to properly protect workers' health.