University of Twente Student Theses
Antecedents of psychological safety in the maritime industry investigating the influence of antecedents on the psychological safety of on- and offshore employees of a maritime shipping and installation company.
Grimm, F.G. (2020) Antecedents of psychological safety in the maritime industry investigating the influence of antecedents on the psychological safety of on- and offshore employees of a maritime shipping and installation company.
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| Abstract: | Introduction. Open communication and voicing concerns on potential hazards are essential to avoid incidents and accidents in a high-risk industry like the maritime industry. Psychological safety, the shared belief that interpersonal risk-taking is safe in a team, enables employees to speak up without fearing personal consequences or negative consequences for their careers. This research aimed to examine the relationships of cohesion and authentic leadership with psychological safety in the maritime industry. Furthermore, the present study examined if cohesion and authentic leadership can predict the number of reported safety observations, mediated by psychological safety. Methods. For this quantitative research, 228 employees of a maritime shipping and installation company participated by answering a questionnaire in which they indicated the levels of psychological safety, cohesion, and authentic leadership they perceive in their team. Furthermore, the company shared a report including all reported safety observations (positive observations, negative observations, and suggestions) per vessel, reported either in safety audits or proactively by the employees. Results. Quantitative analyses showed that authentic leadership is a significant predictor of psychological safety in the maritime industry. Cohesion significantly predicted psychological safety in both the office and the fleet sample, but not in the total sample. Furthermore, it was found that authentic leadership and cohesion could predict if vessels had a high or low proportion of either positive or negative observations in their reported safety observations. The relationship between authentic leadership and cohesion and the reported safety observations was not mediated by psychological safety. Discussion. This study confirmed previous research and was able to show that psychological safety in the maritime industry derives from high-quality interpersonal relationships and from leadership that actively invites input and feedback and emphasizes open and honest communication. Furthermore, this research showed that those relationships and leadership behaviors could predict the safety communication behavior onboard vessels. The study should be replicated after the global pandemic. The current situation (home office for office sample and prolonged assignments onboard vessels and uncertainty about the beginning of assignments for fleet sample) might have altered with the perceived levels of psychological safety, authentic leadership, and cohesion. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 70 social sciences in general |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/83085 |
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