The impact of work characteristics on safety behavior of front-line employees in small and medium-sized industrial enterprises: an empirical study based on Chinese SMEs

This study explores how work characteristic factors influence the safety behavior of front-line employees in small and medium-sized industrial enterprises in China, using an expanded job demands-resources model. The research constructs a structural model based on job demands and job resources. A total of 558 valid responses were collected using a designed variable measurement scale to empirically test the influence of work characteristics on safety behavior (safety compliance and safety participation). The findings reveal that job demands negatively affect safety behavior, with job burnout mediating this relationship. In contrast, job resources positively influence safety behavior, with safety motivation mediating the effect. Additionally, psychosocial safety climate moderates the mediating path between job demands and employee safety behavior, while it partially moderates the mediating paths between job resources and employee safety behavior.