Assessing the performance of psychosocial safety climate in construction firms of different sizes

Purpose Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is essential for fostering sustainable development in the workplace. However, limited attention has been given to understanding how PSC is performed, particularly in high-risk industries like construction. Therefore, this study aims to examine the performance of different PSC dimensions in the Vietnamese construction industry. Design/methodology/approach A survey using the PSC-12 scale was administered via snowball sampling. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to validate the PSC-12 scale’s constructs using data from 238 Vietnamese respondents. After that, the fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) was used to evaluate the level of PSC performance. Findings The CFA confirmed the PSC-12 scale’s validity for measuring PSC among Vietnamese construction firms. The Welch ANOVA and Games–Howell test highlighted differences in PSC performance across construction firms of different sizes (i.e. small, medium and large). After that, the FSE analysis showed that large firms had the highest PSC performance, followed by medium and small firms. Moreover, the organizational communication factor has the highest performance score in small and medium firms. In contrast, organizational participation has the lowest performance value. Originality/value This study emphasized the crucial need to enhance organizational participation by fostering informal discussions and open-door policies in firms of all sizes. Medium and large-sized firms should establish formal consultation mechanisms, such as employee surveys and committees. Strengthening management commitment and prioritization is also crucial, requiring visible actions, resource allocation and integration of PSC into organizational strategic objectives.