Organizational Culture and a Safety-Conscious Work Environment: The Mediating Role of Employee Communication Satisfaction

Introduction: A safety-conscious work environment allows high-reliability organizations to be proactive regard-
ing safety and enables employees to feel free to report any concern without fear of retaliation. Currently, research
on the antecedents to safety-conscious work environments is scarce. Method: Structural equation modeling was
applied to test the mediating role of employee communication satisfaction in the relationship between construc-
tive culture and a safety-conscious work environment in several nuclear power plants. Results: Employee
communication satisfaction partially mediated the positive relationships between a constructive culture and a
safety-conscious work environment. Conclusions: Constructive cultures in which cooperation, supportive
relationships, individual growth and high performance are encouraged facilitate the establishment of a safety-
conscious work environment. This influence is partially explained by increased employee communication
satisfaction. Practical application: Constructive cultures should be encouraged within organizations. In addition,
managers should promote communication policies and practices that support a safety-conscious work
environment.