Empowering leadership and healthcare workers performance outcomes in times of crisis: the mediating role of safety climate

Purpose Drawing upon the norm of reciprocity and social exchange theory, the purpose of this study is to propose and empirically test a model on the relationship between empowering leadership and employees' work-related outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this model, safety climate was theorized as an intervening mechanism between (1) empowering leadership and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and (2) empowering leadership and risk-taking behavior. Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-sectional research design, data were gathered from a sample of 228 full-time staff working in the healthcare sector in Palestine. Data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling to examine the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results show that empowering leadership is related to extra-role behaviors in a time of crisis. Furthermore, the results suggest that safety climate fully mediates the relationships between (1) empowering leadership and OCB and (2) empowering leadership and risk-taking behavior. Practical implications Healthcare administrators are invited to train their supervisors to foster the empowerment philosophy, especially during crisis times, and select leaders with empowering mentality. Besides, healthcare administrators are called upon to consider the critical role of maintaining a safe climate since it is related to employees' outcomes. Originality/value In this study, the authors contribute to leadership literature in crisis times by highlighting the critical role of leadership in sharing power and control with employees to encourage their OCB and willingness to take risks for the organization's interest. Moreover, to the researchers' best knowledge, this study is among the few studies that examine the consequences of empowering leadership in crisis times.