AUTHOR=Bahadurzada Hassina , Edmondson Amy , Kerrissey Michaela TITLE=Psychological Safety as an Enduring Resource Amid Constraints JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health VOLUME=69 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2024.1607332 DOI=10.3389/ijph.2024.1607332 ISSN=1661-8564 ABSTRACT=Objectives

While psychological safety is recognized as valuable in healthcare, its relationship to resource constraints is not well understood. We investigate whether psychological safety mitigates the negative impact of resource constraints on employees.

Methods

Leveraging longitudinal survey data collected from healthcare workers before and during the COVID-19 crisis (N = 27,240), we examine how baseline psychological safety relates to employee burnout and intent to stay over time, and then investigate this relationship relative to resource constraints (i.e., the inadequacy of staffing and tools).

Results

Using hierarchical linear models, we find that psychological safety has enduring protective benefits for healthcare workers during periods of stress, and that these benefits mitigate the negative consequences of resource constraints for burnout and turnover intent over time.

Conclusion

These findings extend the empirical basis for psychological safety and suggest that investments in building psychological safety can foster employee resilience and organizational commitment, even when resources are strained.