How the Perception of Psychological Safety Among Top-Level Civil Servants in the Netherlands Affects Their Commitment to Evidence-Informed Policy Making

This study aims to contribute to the academic literature on leadership in public administration by exploring the mechanisms through which psychological safety, mediated by voice behaviour, can affect commitment to EIPM for top-level civil servants. This study was conducted using a cross-sectional survey (N=121) administered to top-level civil servants in the Dutch central government during May-June 2024. For the analysis, ordinal logistic regressions and mediation analysis following the Baron and Kenny (1986) method were used to test two hypotheses. For H1, the findings indicate that a higher level of perceived psychological safety among top-level civil servants positively affects their commitment to EIPM. Furthermore, H2 is partially accepted, as the relationship established in H1 is partially mediated by voice behaviour. Regarding the current state of affairs of the individual concepts, this sample shows relatively high levels of agreement on psychological safety, voice behaviour,...Show moreThis study aims to contribute to the academic literature on leadership in public administration by exploring the mechanisms through which psychological safety, mediated by voice behaviour, can affect commitment to EIPM for top-level civil servants. This study was conducted using a cross-sectional survey (N=121) administered to top-level civil servants in the Dutch central government during May-June 2024. For the analysis, ordinal logistic regressions and mediation analysis following the Baron and Kenny (1986) method were used to test two hypotheses. For H1, the findings indicate that a higher level of perceived psychological safety among top-level civil servants positively affects their commitment to EIPM. Furthermore, H2 is partially accepted, as the relationship established in H1 is partially mediated by voice behaviour. Regarding the current state of affairs of the individual concepts, this sample shows relatively high levels of agreement on psychological safety, voice behaviour, and commitment to EIPM. Additionally, the study addresses its limitations and suggests potential avenues for future research. The policy recommendations are that leadership should be viewed not only as antecedents for creating psychological safety but also as central figures themselves, as this can have beneficial effects for the organization. Moreover, the item from psychological safety assessing the individual's perceived freedom to take risks within the organisation should be subjected to further research.Show less

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How the Perception of Psychological Safety Among Top-Level Civil Servants in the Netherlands Affects Their Commitment to Evidence-Informed Policy Making