The mediating role of safety compliance and participation in the relationship between safety climate and nurses’ sustainable work outcomes

BackgroundEnsuring healthy and safe working conditions, sustainable performance, and job satisfaction is essential for nurses in the healthcare sector.ObjectıveThis study aimed to examine the impact of nurses' perceptions of safety climate and safety performance on their sustainable work performance.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 442 nurses who had been employed for at least one year in three university-affiliated healthcare institutions in Turkiye. The study was based on the assumption that positive perceptions of safety climate and safety performance would enhance sustainable employee performance. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4.ResultsThe findings revealed that safety climate had a positive and significant effect on sustainable employee performance (β = 0.124, p < 0.05). Both safety compliance (β = 0.283, p < 0.01) and safety participation (β = 0.186, p < 0.01) were positively associated with sustainable performance. Additionally, safety compliance and safety participation mediated the relationship between safety climate and sustainable performance. The indirect effect of safety climate through safety participation (β = 0.079, p < 0.05) and through safety compliance (β = 0.136, p < 0.01) was statistically significant.ConclusıonsThe study provides empirical evidence that safety climate and safety performance significantly enhance sustainable employee performance. A workplace characterized by a positive safety climate and strong safety performance enables employees to concentrate their energy on their duties without concerns about their well-being, thereby facilitating sustained high performance.