The relationship between mental workload and safety performance: the mediating role of safety climate

This study examines the relationship between mental workload and safety performance and tests the mediating role of safety climate using covariance-based structural equation modelling. Safety climate refers to employees’ shared perceptions of the priority given to safety through organisational policies, procedures, practices, and managerial behaviour. Mental workload, defined as the cognitive demands placed on individuals, influences attention and information processing. It is hypothesised that mental workload is associated with safety performance both directly and indirectly through safety climate. The research was conducted with 408 employees from a district municipality in a metropolitan city in Türkiye. Data were collected using demographic forms and validated scales measuring safety climate, safety performance, and mental workload. The results revealed a strong positive path from safety climate to safety performance (β = .779; p < .001), as well as significant paths from mental workload to safety climate (β = .674; p < .001) and from mental workload to safety performance (β = .159; p = .001). These findings indicate that safety climate significantly mediates the relationship between mental workload and safety performance (indirect effect β = .526; p < .001). The positive link between mental workload and safety climate challenges traditional assumptions and suggests a need for further research. The study emphasises the importance of both structural and psychological factors in shaping occupational safety.