COVID-19 safety leadership, perceived severity, and emotional exhaustion: Does safety culture matter?

Safety “works”: the influence of safety coaching on work engagement

“…Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, safety coaching involves actions and measures through which the employer acts as a role model and demonstrates adherence to behaviors appropriate to COVID-19, such as wearing masks and discouraging in-person interactions, to underscore the significance of such behavior in the prevention of the pandemic (Lahlouh et al, 2023;Subramaniam et al, 2023;Unur et al, 2022;Zhang et al, 2020). It also includes conducting online skill training for employees who shifted to an online work environment as well as the alleviation of task conflicts among individuals and departments in such an uncertain context (Lahlouh et al, 2023;Subramaniam et al, 2023;Unur et al, 2022;Zhang et al, 2020). Furthermore, safety coaching involves employers' attempts to engage their employees' intellect, sharing their perspectives and including them during decision-making (Wu, 2005).…”

“…Only a handful of studies have focused on assessing the impact of safety coaching on employees' non-safety-related outcomes. For instance, Lahlouh and colleagues have found that safety coaching helps organizations by diminishing emotional exhaustion among their employees (Lahlouh et al, 2023). Moreover, when engrained in organizational culture and climate, safety coaching can also foster prosocial organizational behaviors (Luthufi et al, 2020).…”

“…Consequently, the pandemic has presented a novel context for scholars to better understand the safety measures implemented by the organizations and their implications. Safety coaching is one such measure that has been adopted by organizations as a response to the pandemic (Lahlouh et al, 2023;Subramaniam et al, 2023;Unur et al, 2022;Zhang et al, 2020). Accordingly, scholars have directed their attention toward examining the implications of safety coaching, including safety climate, safety performance, safe behavior, safety knowledge and motivation (Draghici et al, 2022;Subramaniam et al, 2023;Unur et al, 2022;Zhang et al, 2020).…”

“…, 2015). Even within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, only a handful of studies have examined and observed the impact of safety coaching on non-safety-related outcomes, such as the reduction of emotional exhaustion (Lahlouh et al. , 2023).…”

“…Interestingly, research suggests that the influence of safety coaching on job attitudes and workplace behaviors is underresearched (Passmore et al, 2015). Even within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, only a handful of studies have examined and observed the impact of safety coaching on non-safetyrelated outcomes, such as the reduction of emotional exhaustion (Lahlouh et al, 2023). Importantly, empirical evidence also indicates that an organization's investment in other safety initiatives, such as developing a safety climate, leads to safety-related and non-safetyrelated outcomes such as increased satisfaction, compliance, engagement and decreased burnout (Nahrgang et al, 2011;Subramony et al, 2022).…”