When support for safety misses the mark: The positivity-dampening effect of upper management support following workplace injuries.

INTRODUCTION

Workplace injuries harm not only physical functioning but also employees' psychological connection to work, elevating distress and undermining the emotional energy needed for reintegration. This study examines how formal organizational safety support shapes psychological recovery following injury.

METHOD: Drawing on job demands-resources, social impact, and support typology perspectives, we tested whether perceived safety support from upper management, supervisors, and coworkers moderates the relationship between injury exposure and negative (psychological distress) and positive job-related affective well-being.

RESULTS

Across two samples of UK railway maintenance workers (N1 = 264; N2 = 117), support from supervisors and coworkers did not moderate these relationships. In contrast, when injuries were more frequent, higher perceived support from upper management was associated with lower positive affect. This positivity-dampening effect suggests that top-down safety support, when perceived as symbolic or detached from enacted practices, may fail to restore or even erode the motivational energy required for psychological recovery.

CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between distress reduction and affect restoration, as well as attending to the credibility and proximity of support sources in post-injury recovery.