Organizational culture and a safety-conscious work environment: The mediating role of employee communication satisfaction

IntroductionA safety-conscious work environment allows high-reliability organizations to be proactive regarding safety and enables employees to feel free to report any concern without fear of retaliation. Currently, research on the antecedents to safety-conscious work environments is scarce.MethodStructural equation modeling was applied to test the mediating role of employee communication satisfaction in the relationship between constructive culture and a safety-conscious work environment in several nuclear power plants.ResultsEmployee communication satisfaction partially mediated the positive relationships between a constructive culture and a safety-conscious work environment.ConclusionsConstructive cultures in which cooperation, supportive relationships, individual growth and high performance are encouraged facilitate the establishment of a safety-conscious work environment. This influence is partially explained by increased employee communication satisfaction.Practical applicationConstructive cultures should be encouraged within organizations. In addition, managers should promote communication policies and practices that support a safety-conscious work environment.