Putting workers’ safety front and center: Employee-organization exchange and employee safety performance

Abstract

Introduction: The global occupational accident situation remains severe. As enhancing employee safety performance constitutes a crucial part of accident prevention and safety management, the study aims to examine, from an employment relationship perspective, the cognitive, motivational, and behavioral mechanisms through which employee-organization exchange (EOX), as a social exchange type of employment relationship, can affect employee safety performance. Method: Data were collected from 672 subordinates and their immediate 100 supervisors in three large manufacturing firms in Guangdong province, China. Results: The results shows that: (1) EOX has a positive effect on employees’ safety risk perception, psychological ownership of safety promotion, and safety communication; (2) safety risk perception, psychological ownership of safety promotion and safety communication (as cognitive, motivational and behavioral mechanisms) mediate the relationship between EOX and safety performance (both safety compliance and safety participation); and (3) management commitment to safety moderates the direct effect of EOX on safety risk perception, psychological ownership of safety promotion, and safety communication, and its indirect effect on two forms of safety performance via the three mediating mechanisms. The moderating effect and moderated indirect effect are stronger when management commits more to safety. The study contributes to the employee safety literature. Practical Applications: Employers should establish a long-term oriented social exchange relationship with their employees for effective safety management.