See something, say something: A meta‐analytic review of safety voice

Abstract

Safety voice – the cornerstone of safe workplaces – is a form of safety communication in which an employee speaks up about workplace safety‐related issues with constructive intentions to help prevent incidents, reduce hazards and improve overall safety of the work environment. When workers feel comfortable speaking up about safety concerns, organizations are gifted with opportunities to take proactive measures to protect their workforce. Through the lens of social exchange theory, this review presents the results of a meta‐analytic compilation of 49 independent studies with a total of 50856 participants. Utilizing meta‐analyses, meta‐regressions and meta‐analytic path analyses, we explore a series of research questions investigating safety‐related and general work‐related factors associated with safety voice, and examine how safety voice relates to workplace safety behaviours and outcomes. Findings suggest that safety voice (1) is significantly more prevalent when work environments, organizational leaders and workers at all levels are safety‐supportive, (2) is positively associated with safety compliance behaviour and (3) can help to explain employees’ safety compliance behaviour, beyond safety knowledge and safety motivation alone. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice.