Psychosocial safety climate in organization: an overview of theoretical and empirical development

Abstract

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is a new aspect to be considered in organization in order to overcome work stress issues among employees. The critical study of PSC which build from the foundation of work of psychological safety and safety climate pioneered in 2010 by Maureen F. Dollard and Arnold B Bakker in Australia. The features of climate specifically expected to affect psychological health. New construct of PSC was defined as shared perception of organizational policies, practices and procedures to protect employees' psychological safety and health. Previous studies stated that there are four main elements in PSC which are management commitment, management priority, management and employee participation involvement in stress prevention and organizational communication. It is believed that PSC could be a potential contributor in achieving organization's aim for more positive psychological health environment among employees. Therefore, this paper aims to explicate the theoretical development of PSC and identify the impact on work stress among employees.