2094 - ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY CLIMATE AS A SHIELD AGAINST EXPERIENCING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK

Session: D01S046 - Psychosocial Risks at Work 4
AUTHORS:
Toker-Gültas Yonca (Middle East Technical University ~ Ankara ~ Turkey) , Ok Afife Basak (Ankara University ~ Ankara ~ Turkey) , Sümer Hayriye Canan (Özyegin University ~ Istanbul ~ Turkey) , Demircioglu Zeynep Isil (Middle East Technical University ~ Ankara ~ Turkey) , Göncü-Köse Asli (Çankaya University ~ Ankara ~ Turkey)
Abstract text:
Research on workplace sexual harassment (WSH) has predominantly examined organizational psychological safety climate as a factor facilitating formal reporting to organizational authorities. However, limited attention has been paid to its role, along with peer support, in shaping WSH experiences based on anonymous reports. The present study, supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK - Project No: 124K975), aimed to empirically investigate the influence of organizational psychological safety climate and peer support on four forms of WSH previously identified in the Turkish context: insinuation of interest, sexual hostility, physical sexual harassment, and quid pro quo. Data were collected from 1,005 women employees across six geographical regions of Türkiye, ensuring heterogeneity in individual characteristics, workplace demographics, and attitudinal variables. Four hierarchical regression analyses were conducted, one for each form of WSH, controlling for age, organizational tenure, managerial status, and organizational gender ratio as control variables and organizational psychological safety climate (a composite of the Decent Work Scale-Physically and Interpersonally Safe Working Conditions factor, Organizational Ethical Climate Scale, and Psychological Safety scale) and peer support as predictors. The two predictors added from 4% to 10% of variance in explaining WSH with small effect sizes (Betas from -.11 to -.26) indicating that women employees perceiving higher organizational psychological safety climate and peer support experience less WSH. Perceived safety climate most strongly protected against physical sexual harassment. In addition, moderation analyses indicated that the shielding effect of organizational psychological safety climate on sexual hostility and quid-pro-quo was more pronounced for women working in more male-dominated environments. Our findings highlight the importance of fostering psychologically safe organizational climates and peer support systems in reducing WSH, particularly in contexts characterized by gender imbalance.