PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY: THE DECISIVE INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE IN PREVENTING WORK-RELATED ILLNESS

Abstract

This article addresses psychological safety and the decisive influence of leadership and organizational climate in preventing work-related illness. This topic is of paramount importance, as worker health can be severely compromised in inadequate environments lacking conditions for support and active listening. Therefore, the study aims to highlight the imperative need to preserve mental health and promote the well-being of workers, guaranteeing them respect and proper assistance throughout their professional journey. The research was conducted through a literature review to evaluate relevant points on the mental health and well-being of professionals and the role of leaders, bibliographic references that address the concepts, the importance of considering the health of each worker as the organizational health of the company where they work, where both should be healthy and share the same mindset and ideals, aiming for the overall health of professionals. Initially, 30 articles were selected, of which 11 were considered after the exclusion of irrelevant topics. The literature review focused on studies from the last 5 (five) years, consulting the Scielo, Pubmed, and Google Scholar databases. The results indicate that empathetic leadership and a positive organizational climate act as psychosocial protective factors, mitigating fear and insecurity, and fostering freedom of expression and a suitable work environment. Therefore, the objective of this work was to provide an overview of the importance of psychological safety as a catalyst for emotional health in organizations, highlighting the transformative and preventive role of leadership and corporate culture.