Mindful organizing mediates the relations between group safety climate and safety-related behaviors among operating room team members

Introduction

Mindful organizing as a team-level capability can help team members anticipate what can go wrong and recover quickly to maintain adequate team function and safe performance. This study aims to assess the mediating role of mindful organizing in the relationship between group safety climate and in-role and extra-role safety-related behaviors among 15 work teams in 15 operating rooms of a general hospital.

Method

Self-reported questionnaires were used to collect data concerning group safety climate, mindful organizing, and safety-related behaviors from a number of the operating room staff. In addition, behavioral markers were used to assess team functions regarding safety issues based on the assessment of the observer.

Results

The effects of group safety climate on mindful organizing (b = 0.44, p < 0.001) and mindful organizing on safety behavior (b = 0.69, p < 0.001) and safety citizenship behavior (b = 0.51, p < 0.001) were positive and statistically significant. Furthermore, the mediation effect of group safety climate through mindful organizing on safety-related behaviors was statistically significant. The results of assessing behavioral markers before, during, and after surgical operations showed that plastic surgery, obstetric and gynecologic surgery, orthopedic surgery, vascular surgery, and ear, nose, and throat surgery obtained lower ranks in effective team functioning concerning safety issues in the study hospital.

Conclusion

This study extends the research on how mindful organizing can affect the relationship between group safety climate and employees’ in-role and extra-role safety-related behaviors. These results can help increase our understanding of how mindful organizing might influence team-level reliability in surgical operations.