Mediating Role of Psychological Safety on Support at the Workplace and its Association with Organization Performance: Context of Indian IT Sector

Abstract

Introduction In India, the IT sector has grown to be a substantial industry. Emerging technologies demonstrate their capability to offer clients globally, not only on-shore but also off-shore services. The workplace evolution of the IT sector, which includes a highly structured dynamic system and cutting-edge technology, makes the employees experience anxiety, trepidation, or a general unease while interacting socially or personally with their coworkers. Employees may have anxiety over their capacity to sustain themselves, hold onto their position within the company, and be viewed as valuable contributors by superiors and peers. As the work pressure increases, this helps the organization to understand the impression of psychological safety. Methods The current study is an attempt to delve into the association between social support, i.e., Perceived Organizational Support (POS), Perceived Supervisory Support (PSS), and Perceived Co-worker Support (PCS), and personal employee support, i.e., Personal Self-Concept (PSC) at the workplace and Organizational Performance (OP). The study also analyzes the mediating role of Psychological Safety (PS) in this relationship. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 232 Indian IT professionals. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software package with Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM). Evaluation of the hypotheses was conducted through the SEM, and mediation analysis was carried out using bootstrap estimation in SPSS AMOS. Results The results suggest that POS and PSS have a significant effect on PS and OP. Also, PS has a direct impact on OP. Mediation analysis suggests that PS has full mediation between the relationship of PSC and OP while partial mediation between PSS and OP. Conclusion To stay competitive and gain an edge in a continuously changing environment, IT organizations are looking to execute strategies that will help them retain their personnel. Therefore, businesses are keen to provide their employees with psychological safety and a sense of support so that they can perform more effectively in the workplace. Regarding psychological safety, this affects not only the individual but also teams and, thus, the entire company.