Authentic leadership, safety behaviour and psychological capital in South African construction

Abstract

Orientation: Amid growing health and safety concerns in South African construction, leaders must foster and model safe behaviours to promote compliance and participation. Despite construction being inherently dangerous, psychological capital (PsyCap) offers a constructive alternative to enhance safety behaviour.
Research purpose: The study examined the relationship between authentic leadership and safety behaviour as mediated by PsyCap and its individual dimensions separately.
Motivation for the study: The construction industry must identify new ways to manage challenging work environments to reduce safety violations which impact employee wellness, accident track records and organisational performance. Viewing safety through a positive lens may help organisations identify novel approaches to improve safety behaviour in construction.
Research approach/design and method: This cross-sectional, quantitative study used online and paper-based surveys to investigate relationships between the constructs. Convenience sampling was employed to recruit workers across hierarchical levels at three locations within two South African construction firms.
Main findings: There is a positive relationship between authentic leadership and safety behaviour. Hope and efficacy fully mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and safety behaviour. Optimism partially mediates the relationship, while resilience has no impact.
Practical/managerial implications: Practitioners can apply these findings to support talent management and other workplace interventions to improve leadership development, foster PsyCap and improve safety behaviour.
Contributions/value-add: This research establishes the foundation for understanding how authentic leadership and PsyCap influence safety behaviour in the construction industry. It will help South African construction firms manage demanding environments and reduce occupational safety violations and related injuries.