The Impact of Interpersonal Value Facets on Safety Culture: The Mediating Role of Safety Caring

Authors

  • Shahzad Habib Gill Ph.D. Scholar, Institute of Business Administration, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan Author
  • Muhammad Nazim Assistant Professor, Institute of Business Administration, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61506/01.00328

Keywords:

Safety Culture, Safety Caring, Harmony Value, Respect and Trust, Caring and Understanding

Abstract

In today’s organizational landscape, cultivating a robust safety culture is essential, particularly in high-risk sectors such as construction and utilities. The present research explores how several interpersonal value facets, including harmony value, respect and trust, caring and understanding, and safety caring overlap with one another and shaped the MEPCO’s safety culture. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study demonstrates how promoting specific positive organisational practices can encourage reception of these positive safe behaviours and thus, promote a positive safety climate. The research adopts cross-sectional research design where data is gained through questionnaires from the MEPCO employees, and then the data is analyzed by applying Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Consistent with the hypothesized effects, the analysis establishes the harmony value, respect and trust and caring and understanding factors of safety caring as being closely related. The safety caring component’s powerful influence over safety culture demonstrates the significance of emotionally sensitive and friendly work climates. This paper also brings contributions to the safety culture literature addressing relational aspects and offers practical recommendations for sectors characterized by high hazards and severe consequences to them.

References

Adim, C. V., & David, G. O. (2020). Recognition-Based Reward And Workplace Harmony In Manufacturing Companies In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. European Journal of Human Resource, 4(2), 1–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47672/ejh.559

Ahmed, Z., Ellahham, S., Soomro, M., Shams, S., & Latif, K. (2024). Exploring the impact of compassion and leadership on patient safety and quality in healthcare systems: a narrative review. BMJ Open Quality, 13(Suppl 2), e002651. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2023-002651

Ahmad, R., Nawaz, M. R., Ishaq, M. I., Khan, M. M., & Ashraf, H. A. (2023). Social exchange theory: Systematic review and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1015921

Ajmal, M., Isha, A. S. N., Nordin, S. M., & Al-Mekhlafi, A. A. (2022). Safety-Management Practices and the Occurrence of Occupational Accidents: Assessing the mediating role of safety compliance. Sustainability, 14(8), 4569. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084569

Akhter, A. (2023). Empowering Leadership and Counterproductive Work Behavior: Mediating Role of Person-Organization Fit and Moderation effect of Overall Justice. Review of Applied Management and Social Sciences, 6(2), 149–165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47067/ramss.v6i2.306

Alateeg, S., & Alhammadi, A. (2024). The role of employee engagement towards innovative work behavior mediated by leadership in small businesses. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 11(2), 145–156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2024.02.016

Anderson, J. (2024, May 17). Building a safety culture that works: more than just rules and procedures -- occupational health & safety. Occupational Health & Safety.

Asad, N. M., Ali, N. A., AMushtaq, N., & Ullah, N. R. (2023). Employee And Employers Role In Ensuring Safe Working Environment By Maintaining Health And Safety At Workplace. Pakistan Journal of Science, 75(1), 106–116. DOI: https://doi.org/10.57041/pjs.v75i1.828

Azila-Gbettor, E. M., Honyenuga, B. Q., Atatsi, E. A., Laryea, C. N. A., & Quarshie, A. N. K. (2024). Reviewing the influence of positive leadership on worker well-being: A comprehensive analysis. Heliyon, 10(2), e24134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24134

Baquero, A. (2023). Authentic leadership, employee work engagement, trust in the leader, and Workplace Well-Being: a Moderated Mediation model. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Volume 16, 1403–1424. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S407672

Basahel, A. M. (2021). Safety Leadership, Safety Attitudes, Safety Knowledge and Motivation toward Safety-Related Behaviors in Electrical Substation Construction Projects. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health/International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 4196. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084196

Bilginoğlu, E., Yozgat, U., & Artan, İ. E. (2019). Örgütlerde Saygı ve Güven: İş tatmini üzerindeki etkileri hakkında bir araştırma. Opus Uluslararası Toplum AraşTırmaları Dergisi. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26466/opus.590684

Bucăţa, G., & Rizescu, A. M. (2017). The role of communication in enhancing work effectiveness of an organization. Revista Academiei Forţelor Terestre, 22(1), 49–57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/raft-2017-0008

Çalış, Ç., & Büyükakıncı, B. Y. (2019). Leadership Approach in Occupational Safety: Taiwan sample. Procedia Computer Science, 158, 1052–1057. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2019.09.146

Chou, P. (2016). Social Exchange Relationship and Employee Attitudes toward Newly Introduced Information System. European Scientific Journal, 12(25), 163. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2016.v12n25p163

Choudhry, R. M., Fang, D., & Mohamed, S. (2007). Developing a model of construction safety culture. ResearchGate. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2007)23:4(207)

Conchie, S. M., & Donald, I. J. (2008). The functions and development of safety-specific trust and distrust. Safety Science, 46(1), 92–103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2007.03.004

Cooper, M. D. (2018). The Safety Culture Construct: Theory and practice. In SpringerBriefs in applied sciences and technology (pp. 47–61). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95129-4_5

Cropanzano, R., Anthony, E. L., Daniels, S. R., & Hall, A. V. (2017). Social Exchange Theory: A Critical Review with Theoretical Remedies. ˜the œAcademy of Management Annals, 11(1), 479–516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2015.0099

Farmanesh, P., & Zargar, P. (2023). Trust in leader as a psychological factor on employee and organizational outcome. In IntechOpen eBooks. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100372

Flores, I. F., Dator, W. L. T., Olivar, J. J., & Gaballah, M. K. (2023). Congruence of Effective Leadership Values between Nurse Leaders and Staff Nurses in a Multicultural Medical City in Saudi Arabia: A Sequential Mixed-Methods Study. Healthcare, 11(3), 342. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11030342

Ghorbani, M., Ebrahimi, H., Vosoughi, S., Eskandari, D., Hanifi, S. M., & Mandali, H. (2024). Analyzing the influential factors of process safety culture by hybrid hidden content analysis and fuzzy DEMATEL. Scientific Reports, 14(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52067-7

Hadziahmetovic, N., & Salihovic, N. (2022). The role of transparent communication and leadership in employee engagement. International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 11(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.6007/IJAREMS/v11-i2/14067

Halliday, B., Van Der Laan, L., & Raineri, A. (2024). Prioritizing work health, safety, and wellbeing in corporate strategies: an indicative framework. Safety, 10(1), 18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/safety10010018

Hassan, Z., Subramaniam, C., Zain, M. L. M., Ramalu, S. S., & Shamsudin, F. M. (2020). Management Commitment And Safety Training As Antecedent Of Workers Safety Behavior. IJSCOL, 1(2), 12–20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35631/IJSCOL.12002

Hastings, E. M., Jahanbakhsh, F., Karahalios, K., Marinov, D., & Bailey, B. P. (2018). Structure or nurture? Proceedings of the ACM on Human-computer Interaction, 2(CSCW), 1–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3274337

Ibrahim, I. I., Noor, S. M., Nasirun, N., & Ahmad, Z. (2018). Favorable working environment in promoting safety at workplace. Journal of ASIAN Behavioural Studies, 3(8), 71–78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v3i8.279

Jääskeläinen, A., Tappura, S., & Pirhonen, J. (2022). The path toward successful safety performance measurement. Journal of Safety Research, 83, 181–194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2022.08.014

Jiang, Z., Zhao, X., Wang, Z., & Herbert, K. (2024). Safety leadership: A bibliometric literature review and future research directions. Journal of Business Research, 172, 114437. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114437

Jonathan, G. K., & Mbogo, R. W. (2016). Maintaining Health and Safety at Workplace: Employee and Employer’s Role in Ensuring a Safe Working Environment. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(29), 1–7.

Kalu, D. C., Okpokwasili, N. P., & Ndor, M. B. (2019). Challenges faced by leaders in improving the job performance of subordinates. Information Impact, 9(3), 151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/iijikm.v9i3.12

Kayode, S. O., & Luz, A. (2024). How organizational culture influences employee experience, including aspects such as values, norms.

Khan, N., Ahmad, I., & Ilyas, M. (2018). Impact of ethical leadership on organizational safety performance: the mediating role of safety culture and safety consciousness. Ethics & Behavior, 28(8), 628–643. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2018.1427097

Kim, T., & Gausdal, A. H. (2017). Leading for safety: A weighted safety leadership model in shipping. Reliability Engineering & Systems Safety, 165, 458–466. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2017.05.002

Kluger, A. N., & Itzchakov, G. (2022). The power of listening at work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 9(1), 121–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-091013

Kriz, T. D., Kluger, A. N., & Lyddy, C. J. (2021). Feeling heard: experiences of listening (or not) at work. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.659087

Lansing, A. E., Romero, N. J., Siantz, E., Silva, V., Center, K., Casteel, D., & Gilmer, T. (2023). Building trust: Leadership reflections on community empowerment and engagement in a large urban initiative. BMC Public Health, 23(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15860-z

Lee, M. C. C., Lin, M., Srinivasan, P. M., & Carr, S. C. (2023). Transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior: new mediating roles for trustworthiness and trust in team leaders. Current Psychology, 43(11), 9567–9582. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05095-x

Levin, K. A. (2006). Study design III: Cross-sectional studies. Evidence-based Dentistry, 7(1), 24–25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6400375

Lovelace, K. J., Manz, C. C., & Alves, J. C. (2007). Work stress and leadership development: The role of self-leadership, shared leadership, physical fitness and flow in managing demands and increasing job control. Human Resource Management Review, 17(4), 374–387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2007.08.001

Ly, B. (2024). Inclusion leadership and employee work engagement: The role of organizational commitment in Cambodian public organization. Yà-tài Guǎnlǐ Pínglùn/Asia Pacific Management Review, 29(1), 44–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2023.06.003

Manni, V., De Merich, D., & Campo, G. (2023). Management Approaches to Health and Safety at Work during Prevention Intervention Planning. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health/International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(24), 7142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20247142

Mearns, K., Flin, R., Gordon, R., & Fleming, M. (2001). Human and organizational factors in offshore safety. Work and Stress, 15(2), 144–160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/026783701102678370110066616

Molnar, M. M., Von Thiele Schwarz, U., Hellgren, J., Hasson, H., & Tafvelin, S. (2019). Leading for Safety: a question of leadership focus. Safety and Health at Work, 10(2), 180–187. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2018.12.001

Moon, K. (2024). The effect of safety leadership training including coaching program on safety performance and climate in wood processing companies. Safety and Health at Work. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2024.05.005

Otitolaiye, V., Aziz, F. A., Munauwar, M., & Omer, F. (2021). The relationship between organizational safety culture and organization safety performance. The mediating role of safety management system. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 11(3), 148–157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v11i3.39766

Patankar, M., Bigda-Peyton, T. G., Sabin, E., & Kelly, T. (2005). A Comparative Review Of Safety Cultures.

Radu, C. (2023). Fostering a positive workplace culture: Impacts on performance and agility. In IntechOpen eBooks. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1003259

Roberts, D. S., & Geller, E. S. (1995). An “actively caring” model for occupational safety: A field test. Applied & Preventive Psychology, 4(1), 53–59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0962-1849(05)80051-4

Sankar, S. S., Anandh, K. S., Rajendran, S., & Sen, K. N. (2022). The impact of various safety leadership styles on construction safety climate: A case of South India. IOP Conference Series. Earth and Environmental Science, 1101(4), 042005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1101/4/042005

Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Hair, J. F. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In Springer eBooks (pp. 1–47). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05542-8_15-2

Shobana, N. D. D., & Siddiq, N. D. I. (2024). Navigating Work-Life Harmony: The effects of Corporate culture on Mental health. International Journal of Advanced Research in Science, Communication and Technology, 364–371. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48175/IJARSCT-15258

Suherdin, N., & Sapratista, N. N. (2023). Safe behavior based on safety leadership factors and leadership style. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 20(2), 1377–1384. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2023.20.2.2385

Tappura, S., Jääskeläinen, A., & Pirhonen, J. (2022). Creation of satisfactory safety culture by developing its key dimensions. Safety Science, 154, 105849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105849

Varallo, F. R., Passos, A. C., De Nadai, T. R., & De Carvalho Mastroianni, P. (2018). Incidents reporting: barriers and strategies to promote safety culture. Revista Da Escola De Enfermagem Da USP, 52(0). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/s1980-220x2017026403346

Vitrano, G., & Micheli, G. J. L. (2024). Effectiveness of Occupational Safety and Health interventions: a long way to go. Frontiers in Public Health, 12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1292692

Wiegmann, D. A., Von Thaden, T. L., & Gibbons, A. M. (2007). A review of safety culture theory and its potential application to traffic safety.

Wiig, S., Lyng, H. B., Braithwaite, J., Greenfield, D., & Calderwood, C. (2024). Foundations of safety – Realistic Medicine, trust and respect between professionals and patients. International Journal for Quality in Health Care. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzae006

Woiceshyn, J., & Daellenbach, U. (2018). Evaluating inductive vs deductive research in management studies. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 13(2), 183–195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-06-2017-1538

Wowor, J. V., & Dewi, Y. E. P. (2022). The Influence of Psychological Safety towards Employee Engagement Using Organizational Support as Intervening Variable. AMAR (Andalas Management Review), 6(2), 32–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25077/amar.6.2.48-58.2022

Wu, T., Chen, C., & Li, C. (2008). A correlation among safety leadership, safety climate and safety performance. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 21(3), 307–318. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2007.11.001

Wu, T., Lin, C., & Shiau, S. (2010). Predicting safety culture: The roles of employer, operations manager and safety professional. Journal of Safety Research, 41(5), 423–431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2010.06.006

Wu, W., & Lee, Y. (2017). Empowering group leaders encourages knowledge sharing: integrating the social exchange theory and positive organizational behavior perspective. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(2), 474–491. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-08-2016-0318

Zara, J., Nordin, S. M., & Isha, A. S. N. (2023). Influence of communication determinants on safety commitment in a high-risk workplace: a systematic literature review of four communication dimensions. Frontiers in Public Health, 11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1225995

Zohar, D. (2002). The effects of leadership dimensions, safety climate, and assigned priorities on minor injuries in work groups. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23(1), 75–92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/job.130

Downloads

Published

2024-06-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Gill, S. H. ., & Nazim, M. . (2024). The Impact of Interpersonal Value Facets on Safety Culture: The Mediating Role of Safety Caring. Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), 13(2), 270-281. https://doi.org/10.61506/01.00328