Psychological safety and engagement: the importance of collaboration and experience

Purpose Psychological safety is foundational for engagement in the workforce, but for employees to reach their potential, they must be willing and able to collaborate. The study examined the relationship between psychological safety and engagement as mediated by collaboration. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal survey-based design was used. The sample included 2023 employees from a transportation agency. Findings Psychological safety at Time 1 was positively related to collaboration at Time 2 (r = 0.38, p < 0.01) and employee engagement at Time 3 (r = 0.18, p < 0.01). Likewise, a bootstrap confidence interval for the indirect effect among these factors did not straddle zero (0.028–0.055). Furthermore, tenure was seen to moderate the indirect effect; the bootstrap confidence interval for the index of moderated mediation did not straddle zero (<0.001 to 0.002). Research limitations/implications These findings indicate that the process by which psychological safety drives engagement includes collaboration and time. This has important implications for how collaborative processes within organizations (e.g. meetings) are structured and suggests that managers should seek to promote collaboration. Practical implications Given the findings, managers may want to consider what they can do to ensure their employees feel psychologically safe. Engaging in more open and inclusive communication during meetings may be an appropriate first step. Originality/value Although the relationship between psychological safety and employee engagement is well known, the major original contribution of the study is the importance of collaboration in that relationship.