Workplace social courage as a boundary condition of trust: evidence from employee well-being outcomes

Purpose This study examines whether workplace social courage moderates the relationships between organizational trust and three employee well-being outcomes: subjective happiness, life satisfaction, and job satisfaction. Drawing on psychological safety theory, complemented by a lay-theoretical account of how employees interpret interpersonal risk, the study positions trust and social courage as psychosocial workplace resources whose joint operation shapes healthier work environments. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on cross-sectional survey data collected from 449 employees working in large firms drawn from the Fortune 500 companies operating in Turkey. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), with bootstrapped estimates of the direct effects and of the trust × social courage interaction terms. Findings Organizational trust was positively associated with happiness, life satisfaction, and both examined dimensions of job satisfaction. Workplace social courage significantly strengthened the trust relationships with subjective happiness, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with colleagues. The interaction for satisfaction with the work itself was positive but did not reach conventional significance. The findings therefore provide partial support for a boundary-condition account in which trust and social courage function as complementary psychosocial resources. Practical implications The findings suggest that organizations should move beyond building trust and actively cultivate psychological safety and workplace social courage. Managers can strengthen employee well-being by fostering supportive leadership, fair treatment and open communication, and by designing voice systems, training and HR practices that help employees speak up and challenge harmful practices without fear of social costs. Rewarding constructive voice and respectful dissent can amplify several positive effects of trust, particularly for affective well-being and satisfaction with colleagues. Originality/value The study positions workplace social courage as a behavioral boundary condition in trust–well-being relationships and integrates trust research with psychological safety and workplace courage scholarship, extending workplace health management research through a psychosocial account of how healthier work environments are fostered.