Supervisor and Coworkers Safety Climate Agreements as Mediators of the Leader-Member Exchange and Safety Behaviors Relationship

Purpose: Leadership affects safety outcomes and is an antecedent of safety climate (SC) Leader–member exchange theory (LMX) has been linked to safety behaviours: The quality of 664 relationships between subordinates and their supervisors predicted injuries, through the mediating effect of certain SC dimensions. This work aims to verify whether leader-members agreement on SC mediates the LMX safety behaviours relationship. Methodology: SC (SSC and CSC), LMX, and Safety behaviours were measured on a sample of 508 blue-collars in manufacturing sector. SC was also measured on their supervisors. The agreement degree was computed as the absolute difference between supervisors’ and their workers’ SC scores. The relationships were tested through a series of path analyses. Results: Findings showed that LMX level affects agreement on SSC. Agreement on SSC and CSC differently mediates the relationship between LMX and safety outcomes. Limitations: The present study has two main limitations. First, it is cross-sectional, so causal links may not be inferred; second, all data are self-report. Research/Practical Implications: Our results show that high quality relationships between group members and their supervisors is related to a high level of agreement on the SSC, which in turn enhance participatory safety behaviours. These results may help understanding mechanisms underlying safety behaviours, contributing to the success of safety programs. Originality/Value. The research evidences how LMX affects the agreement of supervisors’ and workers’ perceptions of safety climate. The study also explores the mediating role of this agreement degree in the relationship between LMX and safety behaviours.