Comparing the psychosocial safety climate between megaprojects and non-megaprojects: Evidence from China

Compared to non-megaprojects, megaprojects are often more complex and riskier, and construction employees are thus susceptible to a higher level of psychosocial hazards, which adversely affect their psychosocial health and safety performance. The psychosocial safety climate evaluates the employees’ perceived level of psychosocial health and safety of the workplace and reveals the causes of psychosocial hazards that need to be addressed; it is, therefore, of great significance to determine whether the psychosocial safety climate (PSC) of megaprojects is different from that of non-megaprojects. A questionnaire survey is described involving 10 megaprojects and 143 non-megaprojects in China. The results show that, contrary to expectations, the psychosocial safety climate of megaprojects is significantly better than that of non-megaprojects. Compared with those of non-megaprojects, the employees of megaprojects have a higher common perception of the organization’s emphasis on psychosocial health and safety-related policies, procedures, and behavioral practices in work processes. This research, for the first time, demonstrates and tests the use of the psychosocial safety climate scale (PSC-12) for measuring the construction industry’s PSC, provides insights for understanding the psychosocial safety climate of megaprojects, and serves as a reference for organizational management to intervene in employees’ psychosocial health and correct unsafe behaviors. It also contributes to theoretical research and the measurement standards of psychological safety in megaprojects.