What is the relationship between worker psychological safety and their level of trust in leadership?

Hello – I have drafted eight pages of my literature review, some of which might be of use to you. I need a minimum of fifteen pages but more would be better (I indicated 20 pages in this order). My problem of practice is:

Statement of the Problem
The oil and
gas industry defines fatalities through two categories: process safety
incidents or personal safety incidents. The Center for Chemical Process Safety
defines process safety incidents as “an event that is potentially catastrophic,
i.e., an event involving the release/loss of containment of hazardous materials
that can result in large-scale health and environmental consequences” (Process
safety glossary, 2020[EC1] ).
An event of this type results in fires, explosions, or the release of toxic
materials. Alternatively, personal safety events are related to injuries
suffered from slips, trips, falls, manual handling, or interactions with
equipment (AIChE, 2020).
Despite most companies striving to
reduce personal injuries and process safety incidents each year, few companies
successfully achieve year-on-year reductions in incidents. There are many
reasons for this lack of sustained improvement. One reason is that many
companies develop strategies and safety improvement plans based on lagging
safety performance metrics used across the industry instead of improving safety
inputs that deliver sustainable safety performance (API, 1910). Additionally,
few companies effectively learn because they do not investigate incidents in
sufficient depth (Conklin, 2012). Investigations typically stop when the
investigation team identifies a human error instead of continuing the
investigation to test the factors that shaped the errant decision, namely the
human and organizational factors (Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human
Factors, 2020). Even when accepting frequently incomplete investigations, few
companies believe that zero incidents are achievable, and outside of highway
safety, little research is available from the private sector (Twaalfhoven,
2016).
Consequently,
strategies target a reduction of safety incidents instead of setting zero
incidents as the goal. These strategies often aim at fixing the worker instead
of improving equipment, procedures, or the organizational context within which
the worker makes decisions. Leadership sits at the core of organizational
culture, and zero incidents are only possible when leaders embrace zero as the
goal (Zwetsloot, 2017). Additionally, leaders must also value their role as an
integral part of the safety culture and ultimately consider the impact of their
leadership on worker behaviors and decision-making (Ladegard, 2014). The effect
of safety leadership is the focus of this study.
My theoretical framework is:
Theoretical Framework
Positive Organizational Behavior
Theory capitalizes on human strengths and capacities that can be effectively
measured to support performance improvement (Luthans et al., 2001). The theory
focuses on “human resource strengths and psychological capacities” in
the workplace ([EC1] Luthans,
2002a, p 59). Positive Organizational Theory is relatively new as Luthans built upon [EC2] the
emerging positive psychology movement started earlier by Martin Seligman
(1998). Positive psychology centers
around improving the quality of life by emphasizing happiness and well-being ([EC3] Seligman
(1998a, 1998c, 1999; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), which are
congruent with the theoretical principles of Positive Organizational Behavior
of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (Luthans, 1998a). Positive
Organizational Behavior Theory fits this study because the key components of
the theory are related to the variables of trust in leadership and
psychological safety with the ultimate goal of improving safety outcomes and
worker satisfaction.
Many research studies [EC4] have
supported Positive Organizational Behavior Theory over the past twenty years; several of these involve worker safety, as
this study does. [EC5] Hystad
et al. (2014) investigated Positive Organizational Behavior Theory when studying
the worksite safety climate in Norwegian offshore oil and gas production. They
found a positive relationship (b = 0.45, p < 0.001) between authentic leadership and worker perception of safety climate. Additionally, research indicates that positive attitudes toward safety and the freedom to raise safety concerns will lead to positive safety outcomes (Avey et al., 2011). Conchie et al. (2006) utilized Positive Organizational Theory when they tested the influence of leadership trust on behavioral norms within work teams and found that the variables were positively related [SL6] (Conchie et al., 2006). The key terms of the Positive Organizational theory sit at the heart [EC7] of the emerging positive psychology effort (Luthans et al., 2002). These terms include realistic optimism, emotional intelligence, confidence, and hope. The theory is central to the idea of authentic leadership (Avolio & Gardner, 2005), where leaders' values combine ethical behavior, humility, balance, and transparency, all of which help to form a basis for worker trust in leadership. There is a philosophical debate concerning Positive Organizational Theory, mainly that of individual intrinsic motivation's role and the assumption that leadership influences behaviors (Conchie et al., 2006). There is little research addressing the fundamental question of intrinsic motivation (Dirks, 1999); however, research has confirmed an indirect positive correlation between authentic leadership and intrinsic motivation (Berscheid, 1994; Coleman, 1990, Kramer & Taylor, 1996). While this study will not directly address intrinsic motivation, I will measure the effect of trust in leadership on discretionary safety behavior because these behaviors positively affect safety outcomes. Purpose of the study This study aims to explore the impact of leadership on worker safety behaviors and risk tolerance. Specifically, the leadership element of trust will be evaluated to understand if trust can either positively or negatively affect a worker's willingness to raise a safety concern, measure the extent of any impact, and learn which leadership behaviors strengthen or harm worker trust. In [SL1] this study, I [EC2] will quantitatively measure the impact of trust on safety behaviors and risk tolerance. It will be of equal importance to identify the leadership behaviors that shape worker perceptions. Hence, this study utilizes an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design because this method includes both a quantitative element and a qualitative element. The mixed-methods study will begin with collecting quantitative data through the use of a validated survey instrument. The quantitative phase survey explores Authentic Leadership (Hystad et al., 2013), which involves data collection from all hourly offshore workers based in the Gulf of Mexico for the subject company (n=400), all of whom may participate in the anonymous survey. The first phase of the study will test Positive Organizational Behavior Theory (Luthans, 2002) and assess whether trust relates to the psychological safety of offshore workers. Five-point Likert scales will measure the workers' willingness to voice a safety concern, the extent to which their leader is trusted, as well as specific leadership behaviors that affect worker trust. The second phase of the study, the qualitative phase, will then explain the significance of trust to workers' sense of psychological safety and how trust affects worker safety behaviors. In this exploratory follow-up, I will explore the independent variable of trust through semi-structured interviews with four groups of four offshore workers representing each of the subject company's Gulf of Mexico offshore production platforms. The mixed-method research approach will include a case study to inform the operations leader of the cultural shaping factors for offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico. The findings of this study will inform the leadership of the subject company in several ways. First, the study will highlight the importance of trust and the effect that it can have on worker behaviors and risk tolerance. The study will also help inform research literature as little exists regarding the impact of trust on a worker's willingness to raise a safety concern and ultimately improve safety performance. Finally, , the study can inform leadership recruitment and promotional guidelines, identifying and developing new leaders with the values, principles, and behaviors to become trusted leaders. Finally, the results of this study can inform leadership development programs and the tools used for on-going assessment and feedback. The next chapter details the research design and methodology that I will use in the study to test the effects of trust and perception in leadership on worker risk perception and safety behaviors. research questions: The current Problem of Practice focuses on research questions developed to unpack these issues related to worker trust and the effects of leadership behavior. 1) Quantitative Research Question: What is the relationship between worker psychological safety and their level of trust in leadership? a. [EC1] There [SL2] will be a statistically significant difference between worker perceptions of psychological safety based on their direct line leadership behavior. 2) Qualitative Research Questions: What factors or leadership behaviors influence the level of worker trust? Does the risk perception of the offshore workers change based on the behaviors of their leaders? 3) Mixed Methods Question: How do the interviews with offshore workers help to explain any quantitative differences in leadership behavior and worker trust in their leader? What is this subpoint? It seems out of place. [SL2]Delete the hypothesis.

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