Psychological Safety in Workplace: The Employee Innovative Work Behavior Among Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria

This study examined the relationship between psychological safety and employee innovative work behavior among manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The study was motivated by the increasing need for manufacturing organizations to enhance innovation through workplace environments that encourage employees to express ideas, learn from mistakes, and collaborate effectively. A quantitative cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to managers, supervisors, and employees of selected manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The Taro Yamane (1967) formula was used to calculate the sample size, and multiple regression analysis, Pearson product-moment correlation, and descriptive statistics were employed to evaluate the data. The study examined three elements of psychological safety: speaking-up safety, error tolerance, and interpersonal trust, in relation to employee innovative work behavior measured by idea production and idea promotion. The findings revealed that psychological safety has a significant positive relationship with employee innovative work behavior among manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Specifically, speaking-up safety and interpersonal trust demonstrated relatively stronger relationships with employees' innovative work behavior than the other dimension. The study further established that manufacturing firms that cultivate psychologically safe work environments are more likely to encourage employees to generate and promote innovative ideas that enhance organizational innovation and competitiveness. The study concludes that psychological safety is an important organizational resource for fostering employee innovative work behavior and strengthening the innovative capacity of manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Based on the findings, the study recommends that management should create psychologically safe workplaces by encouraging open communication, promoting error tolerance as a learning opportunity, strengthening interpersonal trust, and establishing organizational practices that support idea generation and idea promotion.