Psychological Safety as A Mediator in the Relationship Between Leadership Style and Professional Well-Being

Abstract

The disclosure of non-linear relationships between leadership characteristics and the professional well-being of employees contributes to the understanding of  psychological determinants of this phenomenon and opens perspectives for effective prevention of its violations. The purpose of this study is to test empirically  the mediating role of psychological safety in the relationship between leadership characteristics and occupational well-being of employees. To implement the purpose of this study, a cross-sectional method was applied using the Scale of Perceived Leadership of Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ, 5X-Short form) Bass and Avolio, Porter's Need Satisfaction Questionnaire (NSQ), Spector's Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS), Scale of psychological safety of Edmondson. The participants of the study were 170 teachers at higher schools of Ukraine. Mathematical and statistical analysis included mediation analysis, correlation analysis. According to the results of the study, it was established that the connection between psychological safety and the professional well-being of employees function through the satisfaction of their psychological needs. Empirical research also confirmed the mediating role of psychological safety in the relationship between leadership style and professional well-being. It was established that the relative contribution of psychological safety in predicting professional well-being increases with a decrease in the positive nature of leadership. Thus, psychological safety moderates the impact of negative leadership characteristics on employee well-being by compensating for the frustration of certain psychological needs. The mediating effects identified by us complement the existing knowledge about the psychological mechanisms of the professional well-being formation in employees and open new perspectives for increasing its level and effective prevention of violations.