Violence and psychosocial safety climate; quantitative and qualitative evidence in the healthcare industry

Occupational violence is a psychosocial hazard of increasing concern, and healthcare has been identified as a ‘high risk’ industry, reinforcing the question:‘Who cares for the carers?’ Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is a leading predictor of other risks to psychological health including psychological demands and workplace violence. We investigate how PSC is related to violence in the healthcare industry, via the extended psychological health erosion process. We use quantitative data from 288 frontline healthcare workers in Australia (across 26 teams) to conduct a multilevel analysis. Qualitative data from interviews with 27 workers also aid in contextualising the findings. We find that healthcare teams with poor PSC are also more exposed to occupational violence, report increased musculoskeletal pain, and ultimately higher work injury. Identifying the means to improve PSC in a healthcare setting is an opportunity to enhance the wellbeing of workers and their role in the provision of quality care.