Introduction: Decent work (DW) is theorised to facilitate fair, safe, and dignified employment conditions that may enhance psychological safety. This involves shared beliefs that interpersonal risk-taking is acceptable. However, the specific contextual factors (e.g., work modality, sector) that influence DW and psychological safety remain insufficiently detailed.
Purpose: To examine the association between DW and psychological safety, the mean differences by work modality (i.e., onsite, remote, or hybrid work) and sector (i.e., industry or services sector), and the moderating role of work modality and sector in the relationship between DW and psychological safety.
Method: Data were collected from 423 employees in Portugal using a self-report questionnaire. The sample mainly consisted of women (60.8%), with an average age of 35. Most participants (48.0%) held a university degree. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS, AMOS and PROCESS macro.
Results: The findings showed a strong positive relationship between DW and psychological safety. Work modality also influences DW and psychological safety. Specifically, hybrid work employees scored higher on DW and psychological safety than on-site workers. The sector of activity also affects DW and psychological safety, with employees in the services sector scoring higher in both variables than those in the industry sector. The data did not support the moderating roles of work modality and sector in the relationship between DW and psychological safety.
Conclusions: DW shows a strong positive link with psychological safety, while hybrid work and services sector settings exhibit higher average levels of both constructs. However, the moderating influence of work modality and sector on the relationship between DW and psychological safety was not confirmed. This implies that contextual effects mainly occur at the level rather than in the relationship between the variables.