Safe workplace culture starts at the top
Adelaide University researchers have confirmed what most workers already know ̶ what senior management believes and prioritises about psychological safety at work strongly affects whether employees are likely to be mistreated.
The study The fish rots from the top: how senior management values and priorities shape worker mistreatment through psychosocial safety climate concluded that “a positive organisational psychosocial safety climate (PSC ̶ the climate for employee psychological health and safety) could prevent workplace mistreatment (bullying and harassment).”
There report details two studies, the first using survey data from 33 Australian public sector organisations, involving 1,341 senior managers, 5,341 supervisors, and 21,996 workers. The second study collected data at three points over 12 months in a different Australian public sector area, covering 117 agencies with 2,332 senior managers, 4,718 supervisors, and 26,112 workers.
The research found that senior leaders who genuinely value people and their wellbeing set the tone for their entire organisation. Supervisors pick up on this beneficial culture, and it influences how they treat staff. In workplaces with a strong focus on psychological safety, employees report less mistreatment.
That positive culture helps supervisors support and protect staff more effectively. Where psychological safety is weak, supervisors may be less likely to support their teams, which allows poor behaviour to continue.
Overall, what senior leaders prioritise sends a clear signal that shapes both supervisor behaviour and how staff are treated.
The cost of poor culture
The Victorian Trades Hall Council’s SafetyNet Journal says that bullying and harassment at work harm employees’ mental health, leading to issues like anxiety, depression, and poor sleep, and cost employers up to $1.97 trillion globally each year in lost productivity through sick leave, staff turnover, and compensation claims.
The study findings at a glance:
Senior management’s pro-human values strengthen psychosocial safety climate (PSC), both current and future
Stronger PSC is associated with lower levels of bullying and harassment
PSC explains how leadership values translate into workplace bullying outcomes
Supervisor support at the work-unit level further reduces bullying.
SafetyNet reported: “All the resilience-building training in the world will not negate the effects of senior management who prioritise productivity and reject the need for employee-focused psychosocial supports and a strong PSC.”