The influence of supportive leadership and job

The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of supportive leadership and proactive personality on employee voice behavior. In addition, it also aimed to assess the mediating role of psychological safety on the influence of supportive leadership and proactive personality on employee voice behavior. In generally, my results provided support for my hypotheses, contribute to the extant supportive leadership, proactive personality, psychological safety and voice behavior research fields.

The results indicate that supportive leadership was significant and positive related to employee voice behavior, suggesting that as employees perceive their leaders as supportive, they are likely to engage in voice behavior. This finding are consistent with (Ho, 2017)who found that there is a positive and significant relationship between support supervisor and employee voice behavior. Leaders are an important contextual factor and have been considered to play a key role in inducing employee to voice their concerns (Detert & Burris , 2007). Theoretically, leadership behavior has been suggest to affect voice behavior for two reasons.

First, speaking up by definition requires someone to share ideas with someone else. Therefore, leadership is naturally related to the voice behavior. Second, leaders have authority to distribute rewards and punishments and this power is important for engaging in voice behavior (Detert & Burris , 2007). Because, supervisors are the main entity receiving employee’s’ voiced concerns and holding the authority to evaluate employee performance, supervisors are often the major reason why individuals are afraid of engaging in voice behavior (Morrison , 2011).

Therefore, to encourage Egyptian employees to engage in voice behavior, it is important to receive support from their leaders. The results revealed that proactive personality was significant and positive related to voice behavior. Meaning that, when employees be proactive, they are likely to engage in voice behavior. This consistent with findings of (Kanten & Ulker, 2012; Fuller & Marler , 2009; Xie, et al. , 2014) that proactive individuals are more likely to engage in voice behavior.

Recent studies accept that proactive personality is one of the primary determinants of voice behavior (Kanten & Ulker, 2012). Indeed, proactive personality has been shown to predict proactive problem solving, individual innovation, as well as strategic behaviors such as career initiative and are committed to bringing about positive and constructive change to their environment regardless of situational forces ( Kanten & Er Ulker, 2012). Therefore. In Egyptian culture, it is important to motivate employees to be proactive to engage in voice behavior.

The findings showed that supportive leadership was significant and positively related to psychological safety. This result means that when employees perceive their leaders as supportive for them, this may increase their feeling with psychological safety. The past studies suggest that leader’s behavior contributes to the feeling of psychological safety (Nembhard & Edmondson, 2006). Some leader behaviors have a positive impact on psychological safety, such as inclusive leadership (Carmeli, et al. , 2010; Nembhard & Edmondson, 2006).

In addition, ethical leadership (Walumbwa & Schaubroeck, 2009). Therefore. In Egyptian culture, it is important to encourage leaders to be supportive for their subordinates to increase their feeling with psychological safety. The results asserted that psychological safety was significant and positively related to voice behavior, suggesting that as employees feel with psychological safety, they are likely to engage in voice behavior. This result consistent with (Yi, 2009).

In a psychological safety work environment, employees feel that their colleagues will not reject their thoughts and appreciate it (Edmondson, 1999). Generally, employees engage in voice behavior only when, they believe that speaking up is safe and would yield effective outcomes (Ho, 2017). Therefore. In Egyptian culture, it is important to induce employees to engage in voice behavior through creating a psychological safety environment. The findings declared that proactive personality was significant and positively related to psychological safety.

Suggests that employees be proactive, when they feel with psychological safety. Psychological safety has been espoused as an important factor for reducing the risk of behaving proactively. It is possible that proactive employees will speak up with their suggestions, to initiate constructive changes for the benefit of their organization ( Xie, et al. , 2014). Organizations with a climate of psychological safety will enhance learning as well as the use of employees’ creative potential (Baer & Frese, 2003).

Therefore. In Egyptian culture, creating psychological safety environment is important for proactive individuals. My study found that psychological safety partially mediates the relationship between supportive leadership and voice behavior. This means that supportive leadership impacts voice behavior probably through the employees’ feeling of psychological safety. This consist with the result of (Yan & Xiao, 2016) that psychological safety mediated the relationship between supportive supervisor and employee voice behavior.

Leaders encourage followers to express their ideas and remove obstacles, which preventing the expression of ideas, thereby creating an environment of high psychological trust. Subordinates will take risks if they trust their leader, because they believe the leader will not punish them, when undesirable results occur ( Sagnak, 2017). Therefore. In Egyptian culture, which characterized as a high power distance, it is important for employees to receive support from their supervisors and feel with psychological safety to engage in voice behavior, because of social costs resulted in it.

This study declared that psychological safety partially mediates the relationship between proactive personality and employee voice behavior. Which means that when employees are proactive, they are likely to engage in voice behavior, probably through their feeling of psychological safety. Individuals with high levels of proactive personality take personal initiative and are committed to bringing about positive and constructive change to their environment, regardless of situational forces.

Similarly, voice is behavior that is seen as active, constructive and intended to improve rather than criticize (Kanten & Ulker, 2012) psychological safety has been recognized as a significant factor in decreasing the risk of behaving proactively (Carmeli & Gittell, 2009). Therefore. In Egyptian culture, which characterized with highly power distance it is important to proactive individuals to feel with a psychological safety; to engage in voice behavior, because of social costs resulted in it. Overall, the purpose of the present study was proved.

Consequently, the findings contribute to motivation, psychology and job behavioral body of knowledge and provide empirical evidence in literature, stressing the direct relationship between proactive personality and voice behavior. Limitation and Future studies The contribution of the present study must be observed in the light of several limitations. First, the study was performed in the Egyptian companies belonging to Footwear and Headgear sector. Thus, the findings should not be generalized to other organizations as a whole. Second, the present study was limited to Egypt.

Hence, the findings cannot be generalized to other countries. Third, the present study was cross – sectional performed in a specified period. Fourth, the present study adopted quantitative approach, and the questionnaire was used as a means to collect the data. The fifth limitation is that the focus of the study is on the Footwear and Headgear sector. Based on this, the generalizability of the findings may be limited. It may be useful for future studies to examine the different constructs that may have impacts on voice behavior, such as leader – member exchange, organizational commitment, quality of work life and Mentorship.