An exploratory analysis of the relationships between leadership, safety climate, and organizational citizenship behavior within high-containment biosafety laboratories

This study showed that there was a moderately strong relationship between leadership and safety within high-containment biosafety laboratories. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the relationships between the strength of the leader-member exchange (LMX), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), and the followers' perception of the safety climate within their organization. Surveys were administered to scientists and staff working in high-containment biosafety laboratories. Positive relationships were found between high-quality LMX and the components of OCB helping behavior, civic virtue, and sportsmanship. There was a moderately-strong positive association between OCB and perception of safety climate. The analysis also showed a strong positive correlation between high-quality LMX and the perception of safety climate. This study showed that the relationship that leaders develop with their followers can provide a safer working environment within high-containment biosafety laboratories.