The influence of learning-oriented leadership for promoting future-directed workplace safety in the mining industry

Learning-oriented behaviour is important for risk identification and safety management, especially in high-risk industries. Yet, its effect in relation to employee safety citizenship behaviour (SCB) has not been systematically investigated. This study aims at: (a) examining the impact of safety learning behaviour on SCB; (b) examining the relationship between job risk assessment, safety training and safety learning; and (c) examining the mediating effect of safety learning on the relationship between job risk assessment, safety training and SCB. Data were collected from a sample of 316 employees of six large-scale gold mining companies in Ghana, and analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation analysis. The results showed positive significant associations between safety learning and employee-safety voice and safety stewardship behaviours. Job risk assessment, safety training and safety learning were also associated positively with each other. The results showed further that safety learning mediates the relationship between safety training and employee safety voice and safety stewardship behaviours. Our findings provide implications for theory and practice as it points out the critical influence of learning-oriented supervisors behaviour for promoting future-directed workplace safety.