Psychosocial Safety Climate Within the Model of Proactive Motivation

Abstract

While the model of proactive motivation acknowledges the role of environment in affecting individual’s personal initiative, it lacks a clear explanation the processes involved. Adopting the notion that the providence of job resources originates from management and job resources is a positive spiral agent in motivating employees, we propose that psychosocial safety climate (PSC), an important environment factor, increases employees’ personal initiative using the pathway PSC --> personal development --> work engagement --> personal initiative. This study utilises a longitudinal multilevel study amongst Malaysian private employees (N=134; 28 organisations) over a one-year gap. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), results reveal that PSC significantly relates to personal development, work engagement, and personal initiative. In addition, personal development mediates the relationship between PSC and work engagement. The results show that although work engagement mediates the personal development and personal initiative relationship, work engagement does not mediate between PSC and personal initiative. The study suggests that PSC is an important organisational climate in enhancing employees’ motivation (i.e. work engagement) and personal initiative, particularly through personal development. Hence, it is suggested that organisations implement PSC to produce a conducive working environment for employees’ growth and productivity.