Leadership styles and participation in the occupational health and safety management system

Orientation: Effective leadership, capable of encouraging worker participation in organisational activities, is crucial for strengthening occupational health and safety management systems (OSHMS).Research purpose: Analyse how worker leadership styles influence their participation in the OSHMS of a public university, identifying the leadership styles that foster greater involvement.Motivation for the study: Previous research has focused on the relationship between senior management leadership styles, performance and work motivation. However, no studies have been identified that examine how the leadership styles of operational or mid-level workers influence their participation in OSHMS.Research approach/design and method: Leadership styles and worker participation dimensions were measured via self-administered questionnaires, and their relationships analysed using Kendall’s Tau-b correlation.Main findings: The task-centred leadership style was found to be associated with the co-decision and consultation dimensions, while the relationship-centred leadership style was linked to the co-decision dimension. In contrast, the authoritarian and democratic styles had no statistically significant impact on worker participation. Based on this, Leaders should adopt these styles to foster active participation in all OSHMS elements, enhancing workplace safety and improving operational performance.Practical/managerial implications: Identifying leadership styles that enhance participation enables the development of strategies to strengthen OSHMS. However, further research is needed to explore the impact of leadership on other aspects of OSHMS, such as risk perception and adherence to occupational safety and health regulations.Contribution/value-add: Leadership styles influence worker participation in the OSHMS of a public university, highlighting the positive impact of task-centred and relationship-centred leadership.