The Impact of leadership styles on safety climate in manufacturing facilities

Abstract

In high-risk manufacturing facilities, establishing a strong safety climate is essential for reducing workplace accidents and enhancing employee well-being. Leadership plays a critical role in shaping safety cli-mate by influencing how safety policies are communicated, implemented, and perceived by employees. To address the gap of lack of research exploring the impact of various leadership styles on the safety climate within the Sri Lankan manufacturing industry, this study investigates the impact of six leadership styles; Transforma-tional, Transactional, Servant, Autocratic, Laissez-Faire, and Situational on multiple dimensions of safety climate in Sri Lankan manufacturing facilities. A quantitative research approach was employed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and an adapted safety climate questionnaire. Data were collected from 210 employees across seven manufacturing facilities, representing managerial, supervisory, technical, and opera-tional roles. Correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS to examine rela-tionships between leadership styles and six safety climate dimensions: Safety Communication and Feedback, Supervisor’s Role in Safety, Peer Influence and Safety Culture, Management Commitment to Safety, Safety Procedures and Compliance Pressure, and Training and Emergency Preparedness. The results indicate that Transformational, Transactional, and Servant leadership styles are positively associated with stronger safety climate, whereas Autocratic and Laissez-Faire styles exhibit significant negative relationships. Situational lead-ership demonstrated mixed effects depending on contextual application. The findings highlight the importance of supportive leadership approaches in strengthening safety climate and improving employee engagement in safety practices. This study contributes empirical evidence to the limited literature on leadership and safety in Sri Lankan manufacturing and provides practical implications for enhancing workplace safety performance.